Star Wars: Force of Nature
by General Rage
Summary: In a carefully laid trap, the King of Monsters is hit with a devastating super weapon. While the Nations of the World cheer they do not realize they have not destroyed him, only sent Godzilla to a new world. It is here the Atomic Titan shall come face to face with a new enemy, as he walks straight into a war long ago in a Galaxy Far, Far away...
1. Prologue

Prologue

It was fitting that it would be here, of all places. The crisp blue waters, the sun-bleached sands, the elegant green palms swaying in the winds of a beautiful sky. It probably looked very much like this all those years ago. The day man unleashed something extraordinary and terrifying all at once. This was Bikini Atoll, a small insignificant little stretch of islands that no one had paid much attention to. Until that aforementioned day of course, where it had all began. Now, on this day, if everything went to plan, it would be where it ended.

Captain Tatsuya Odagawa stood on the Observer's Platform of the battleship, overseeing the entire area. On each of the tiny little islands stretched out before him were several artillery batteries, loaded with high explosive ordinance. Between the islands, ships from every nation and corner of the globe, America, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada and of course Japan. The battleships and artillery were loaded with TOW missiles, cruise missiles, radar-guided, heat-seeking, whatever they could carry. The carriers sported a similar armament with their bombers and jets. Ultimately though, none of them really mattered. They were only here to keep the target off balance and lead him where they wanted it to go.

There was only one less conventional weapon that could be seen and Odagawa decided to take another look at it. Buried among the trees was a massive gun, bigger than anything on any of the nearby ships. It didn't fire rockets, or missiles, or even shells. It fired dark energy, a power terrible enough to literally rip through time and space. At least that was what the scientists claimed as the thing had never been fired, not even in testing. How ironic given their current surroundings and what happened here before. The scientists called it "Dimension Tide", Odagawa just called it what was, a Black Hole Gun. He preferred simple titles over fanciful comic book names. The weapon was excessive in any other circumstances, but not this one. It was pretty much their last shot at this point.

Sixty years ago or so, in 1954 on this very spot, the Americans detonated the very first H-Bomb. Up to that date it had been the most powerful atomic weapon ever created. No one could've predicted the consequences when they dropped it. It wasn't until much later when cold hard reality hit them. The American's desire to claim victory in the Cold War of the 1950s had awakened something. A creature of such immense raw natural power that man's greatest war machines were rendered powerless. There was no clear theory of what he was. A survivor of the Jurassic age altered by radiation? An ancient monster brought to life by the bomb's detonation? All they knew was that the bomb had brought him into being and the world had never been the same since.

For that was the day, Godzilla, King of the Monsters, had begun his reign.

Over the decades since, Godzilla had rampaged across the Earth. His need for destruction seemed insatiable, relentless and most peculiar of all was that it seemed directed. Godzilla attacked power plants, nation capitals, military bases. To any outsider observer the attacks almost seemed strategic in nature. It was as if Godzilla was picking his targets, choosing which held priority over the other. The idea that this prehistoric monster was a thinking one was a disturbing thought for many.

Humanity had only ever succeeded in driving him off, it was the best they could do. Nothing seemed capable of killing him. Not even the other giant monsters that had arisen after him. From time to time, these other giant monsters, or Kaiju, focused Godzilla's rage away from humanity. Sometimes it even felt like he was protecting the Earth from them or at the very least establishing his dominance over them. The battles between the Kaiju had repeatedly destroyed many of the great cities of the world, ending countless lives in the process. Earth had gotten used to rebuilding its cities from the ground up at this point.

After so many decades of battles, of speculation on his origins, his objective, if he had any, whether he was protecting the Earth or punishing man, the governments of the world came to the conclusion that they had had enough. Godzilla was simply far too dangerous to remain here, too much of a menace for all the times he had supposedly saved Earth to pardon him any longer. He had escaped the so-called Monster Island too often. Other methods of containment had failed as well. They didn't want the King of the Monsters captured anymore, they wanted him gone.

So this was it, the final plan of a world that had decided that they were done. No more tolerating this "overgrown lizard" as some governments had decreed him. They needed to kill him, end this reign of terror he had griped the planet with for so long. They'd lure Godzilla in, force him into position and then fire the Dimension Tide. If the weapon worked, it would create a singularity that would tear Godzilla from the very fabric of reality. Nothing could survive that.

There were protests, mainly from the king's legion of "fans" if you will. Some crazy religion that had cropped up among the population, that Godzilla and these other monsters were in reality Gods of old, or at least divine creatures of Mother Gaia or something. Odagawa didn't really pay attention to the rabble. He only knew what the media reported. To these sycophants, Godzilla was a "Force of Nature." Any attempts to kill him only enraged him further. The use of the Dimension Tide would end with the destruction of every one nearby and ultimately culminate with the end of humanity itself.

The more practical fear was a lot less dramatic, but no less dire. No one knew what the Black Hole Gun would ultimately do. It could kill Godzilla or it could unleash something worse. That was the fear Odagawa had. But, there was no point in arguing now. The decision had been made. It was time to end the king's reign.

Warning alarms sounded across the assorted fleet of ship. Odagawa looked back towards one of the terminals aboard his own ship. There he saw a large blip coming towards them from the air. He knew what it was instantly and knew what it meant. Everyone rushed to battle stations, preparing for the inevitable. Guns trained towards the direction the air contact was coming from, for they knew what would be following behind.

Suddenly, there was a blast of blue light off in the distance and something terrific exploding in the heavens above. Black smoke pooled into the air. It began growing bigger and wider as something careened from the sky towards the Atoll below. A nearby battery of men ran for cover as the object crashed down on top of them. Odagawa got out his binoculars and looked over at the destruction.

Lying in a smoking heap in what little remained of the artillery position was a metallic silver saurian machine. The Americans called this machine Mechagodzilla, the Japanese simply knew him as Kiryu. The robot had successfully driven off Godzilla several times from Japanese shores. He was their most successful weapon against him, now he was scrap. In an effort to enrage Godzilla to follow it to the firing line, Kiryu's crew had flown off in the early hours of the morning. They were to engage Godzilla and force him to follow them back to Bikini Atoll. From the looks of his battered and broken chassis, busted eyes, broken tail, missing arm and crushed jaw, Kiryu had put up a magnificent fight. But now Godzilla had grown tired of the robot doppelganger and decided to end him.

Mere moments later, as Kiryu's crew was being evacuated from their now burning craft, an explosion of water erupted off the coast of the Atoll. A pillar of blue foam shot up from the sea as a big, grey reptilian head jutted out of the deep. Piercing yellows eyes burning with rage stared down at the assorted fleet of ships. A massive mouth full of teeth the size of city buses snarled at the crews. Bristling fins, still shining bright blue from the recent ejection of radioactive breath, swayed to and fro as the monster shook the water off his body. His nostrils flared at the sight of the guns surrounding him, his gigantic claws bawling themselves into fists. A huge tail the size of a thousand redwood trees lashed together rose up from the water next, swishing about in the air, almost as if the monster was trying to pick where he would send it crashing down first. Odagawa had seen him before, but never this close and never looking this enraged. There were still fresh cuts and blows visible along the massive kaiju's body, Kiryu had at least left a few marks, but not enough to stem the beast's anger.

Rearing his head up, sucking in air from all around him, Godzilla suddenly lurched forward, his mouth open wide and he let out a terrible, deafening roar. It shook and then shattered the glass of the assembled fleet windows, forced every man to clutch at his ears and even forced some seasoned sailors to fall on their backs from the sheer force of the sound. The monster then began walking forward, creating miniature tidal waves as he stomped through the surf towards the islands. All at once, every gun and plane in the air opened up.

Shells, missiles, bombs, they all crashed down onto Godzilla as he forced his way forward. He didn't even seem annoyed by the attacks. The battle with Kiryu had barely even tired him out. The monster was just acting on pure unbridled rage now. Nothing mattered, but the destruction of this fleet and the fool humans who dare strike at him. As a wing of jets flew over him, delivering their payload, Godzilla fired out a blast of atomic breath. A beam of blue radioactive fire shot out from his mouth and cut a swath through the air. The wing of jets was obliterated in the blink of an eye.

A cruise missile crashed into Godzilla's face next. He instantly turned to where the missile had come from, a battleship just a few feet away from him. He grabbed at the vessel with his giant hand and picked it up as if it was but a child's toy. Even from this distance, Odagawa could see men fall from the deck and into the water below. Godzilla soon chucked the battleship into the air, causing it to land on another ship, crushing it beneath the weight of its fellow ship and twisting the two into a mangled mess of metal.

Godzilla lifted a massive foot into the air and stomped it back down in such a way that it directed a tidal wave into a grouping of destroyers. The ships were engulfed by the waves. One of their captains had managed to turn the ship enough to break through the wave with their nose. The other two in the group weren't so lucky and were capsized by the wall of water. Godzilla only glared at the destruction before suddenly turning his head towards the skies again. A flight of fighter bombers were closing on him, ready to hit him with their ordinance. Godzilla simply slashed his tail into the sky, forcing them to break their attack run. He clipped two fighters with his tail, destroying them instantly. Godzilla then twisted the tail to collapse onto another battleship, snapping it in two right down the middle.

Godzilla now let loose a blast of atomic breath, the blue pillar of death shot across the battlefield and sliced into a carrier at the centre of one of the American battle groups. It exploded into a ball of flame, its flight deck being ripped clean off as the blasts tore it from underneath. Godzilla didn't stop firing though. He dragged his breath across the length of the American Fleet, cutting into the nearby Chinese and Russian. A sea of flame lashed out across coast of Bikini Atoll, sending dozens of boats and countless sailors to their watery graves.

However, even with all this carnage, the plan was still working. The firepower unleashed on him couldn't kill Godzilla, but it did drive him further towards the Atoll. The missiles and bombs from the planes and ships were forcing him to advance, driving him forward into the trap. Odagawa was impressed at how accurate the military strategists had been about the monster's reaction. Godzilla was a fighter first and foremost, in every conflict he only fled when his energy was spent or he decided the fight wasn't worth it. That was the theory anyway. You couldn't really tell what a kaiju was thinking.

After Kiryu's attack, however, Godzilla was running on rage. This was the first time Kiryu had been used offensively against the monster. As predicted, Godzilla saw this as encroachment on his territory and decided to end the threat completely. That meant wiping out the perceived danger entirely, like a bear going after an aggressive pack of wolves in their den. And that was just what they had been planning on.

Godzilla now stomped onto beach of the first island in his path. The artillery guns started opening fire at this point, what little good it did. The missiles barrages did little, the larger concentrated energy cannons and beams from Japan worked better. In the end, Godzilla stomped his foot onto the nearest artillery position and then shot a blast of radioactive fire across the nearest two islands to destroy the attackers there.

The Japanese Fleet, the closest to Dimension tide, now renewed their attack with vigor. The other ships lessened their assault in response, firing just enough to keep Godzilla pushing forward but not enough to take his attention off the Japanese Fleet. Odagawa activated the main intercom.

"Concentrate all fire on the head," he ordered his men. "Make him come to us!"

The gunners did as instructed, hitting Godzilla in the head hard. The monster growled and roared in anger, shaking his head to get the smoke from the explosions out of his eye. With explosions and fire erupting all around him, the giant saurian stomped back into the surf and raced as fast as his massive legs could take him through the water. He bellowed at the offending Japanese Fleet as he pushed towards his enemies, just as they predicted he would.

When the titanic lizard closed the distance, the tree cover around Dimension Tide gave way. The gigantic weapon, which looked like a cross between a massive jet turbine and futuristic cannon, began to glow bright purple. As the inner mechanisms began to whirl, Godzilla's attention was turned towards the weapon. He cocked his head curiously, confused as to what he was looking at. He roared at it loudly and began to rear his head up, his spines glowed bright blue, reaching up along his back towards his head. Whatever this thing was, he was going to destroy it. Odagawa raced to activate the comm. again.

"Fire! Fire all guns! Fire at the head!" Odagawa ordered in a frantic panic of desperation.

Following their captain's orders, the gunners opened up. Cruise missiles crashed into Godzilla's head, just as he let loose his atomic breath. The atomic beam failed to hit dead on, grazing the base of Dimension Tide. Sparks and flames shot out of the weapon's side where the beam hit it, but the gun kept charging. Once the weapon had started cycling, nothing could stop it from discharging. Odagawa was now suddenly more worried about the weapon, but there was nothing they could do about it now.

"Ten seconds to discharge!" Came a warning over the radio.

"All hands," Odagawa called to his men over the radio. "Brace yourselves!"

Dimension Tide reached the apex of its charge, a giant black ball of energy coalescing in its massive barrel. Suddenly, it fired and the black ball rocketed out of the gun in a blinding flash of light. Trees, dirt, rocks and waters were pulled into the singularity as it sped through the air. The weapon's discharge also sent out a booming shockwave that blew the leaves off nearby palm trees and created giant waves as it hit the water. Odagawa's ship rocked as the waves, both water and sound based, struck his ship. It was a miracle they didn't capsize from either.

The ball of black light sliced through the air, heading straight at Godzilla. The kaiju had just recovered from the blow he had taken to his head and spotted the black ball heading for him. Godzilla just stared the black ball down, glaring at it with a snarl. True to form, he didn't back down, he roared loudly at the object and unleashed his atomic breath on the oncoming black ball. The blue breath just seemed to be pulled inside the approaching dark sphere, but Godzilla refused to relent. Finally, the black energy slammed into Godzilla, engulfing him entirely. The kaiju let loose one final tremendous roar and then was silenced by a massive explosion of energy.

Then, everything vanished in a flash of blinding purple light.

Odagawa only raised his head when the light dissipated. He carefully looked up into the center of the Atoll and saw… nothing. No black ball of energy, no Godzilla, just water. Everything was silent for a few moments more before a jubilant cry went out across the ship, the fleet and everyone on or around the Atoll itself. It took a minute before Odagawa realized he was cheering himself. They had done it, sixty years of terror, finally ended. Godzilla was gone. It took the combined efforts of nearly every developed Nation on Earth, but they had accomplished the impossible. They had defeated the king of the monsters.

Odagawa looked towards Dimension Tide, the weapon that had given them this victory. He expected to look on it with pride, only to see it smoking from every orifice and small fires erupting out its mouth. Apparently, Godzilla's last big shot had done enough damage. He couldn't be sure from this far away, but Odagawa suspected it wouldn't be firing again anytime soon. Perhaps it was for the best that way. A weapon of that kind of power was too great for any one nation to control. It had played its role, no sense in someone else besides Godzilla being on its business end.

Regardless of the destruction of their great weapon, it was hardly the time to feel dejected at its loss. This was a great victory for the world. Godzilla, King of the Monsters, was dead. There would be no more fear of the Kaiju's roar, his atomic breath, his massive tail or pounding footsteps. He would trouble them no more. His following throngs who thought of him as a literal God had turned out to be wrong after all. He wasn't a Force of Nature at all. He was just an animal, one that needed a really big gun to be put down, but nothing more.

However, in the back of his mind, Odagawa wondered a disturbing thought. Godzilla had survived everything else they threw at him, why not this? It wasn't like they could confirm the death definitively. There was no body after all. And there wasn't any real answer as to what Dimension Tide really did. Yes, they said it destroyed matter utterly, that it ripped apart the fabric of reality, as well as time and space. However, that was just speculation, there was a big difference between what you thought a weapon would do and what it actually did. This was the one and only instance of the gun firing. It would be the only instance of it firing. No one would ever really know what the full capability of the weapon was. So what if Godzilla wasn't dead? What if something else happened? What if he had been transported to the future or the past or another dimension or…?

Odagawa tried to put the inward debate out of his mind as he looked up towards the sky. Surely such thoughts were just creeping paranoia, disbelief at the accomplishment he had witnessed himself. Now was the time to look to a greater future, with one less monster in the world. They could all start living again. The king's reign was done.

* * *

The blackness faded and light finally returned. He gazed about the broken, cracked ground and the trees that have been pushed aside by the explosion. Instantly, he smells the unfamiliar air. Knowing something is amiss, he stares at a sky above that he cannot recognize. Three moons hanging in the stars above, this was not his world at all. He does not know where the human weapon has sent him, but it does not matter. All that matters is that Godzilla, King of the Monsters, has survived yet another feeble attempt by man's machines against his life. He roared defiantly into the air, to let all know that his world was now his dominion. And any who defied his reign would burn beneath his shadow.


	2. The New World of Gods and Monsters

_**A Long Time Ago, in a Galaxy Far, Far Away...**_

**Star Wars:**

**Force of Nature**

**It is a dark time for the Galaxy, as the evil Galactic Empire continues to strengthen its stranglehold. Its forces march across the galaxy, destroying what little freedom remains. Their rule seems absolute and unending. The only hope lies in small bands of Rebels who have begun rising up to defy Imperial authority. Wherever they strike, the aura of the Empire's invincibility begins to weaken.**

**The Empire soon places it's hopes on new and more destructive weapons to extinguish these sparks of rebellion and the dream of a free Galaxy forever. One such project is now nearing completion, a secret cloning operation that has been in development since before the fall of the Old Republic. To oversee its final completion, the Emperor has sent his most ruthless servant, DARTH VADER, to ensure its success.**

**Meanwhile, a Rebel Cell has learned of this secret project. Fearing the outcome of its full deployment, AHSOKA TANO, former Jedi Padawan, has contacted the services of the crew of the Starship Ghost, led by HERA SYNDULLA and fellow surviving Jedi KANAN JARRUS. The hope being that they can help in stopping this threat before it brings doom to the Rebellion.**

**Unbeknownst to both the Empire and Rebels, however, an unknown creature has arrived on the planet where the project is being developed. A monster of immense power, unlike anything either side has ever seen. Transported to this strange new world, it now searches for an opponent to pit against its terrible might, placing it on a crash course with the coming conflict that could decide the very future of the entire Galaxy...**

* * *

Chapter One: The New World of Gods and Monsters

The _Ghost _coasted through space, the calm blackness surrounding it a welcome sight for its tired crew. One too many smuggling runs between other cells wasn't nearly as easy going as Ezra Bridger had hoped they would be. It wasn't that he wanted to avoid a fight, far from it. The problem was that the constant work kept him from further Jedi training with Kanan. He didn't voice his complaints too much to the others though, partly to keep himself from looking like a whiny brat and mostly because Kanan's lessons on patience were stuck in his head. He really didn't want to get that lecture again.

He supposed the smuggling runs were important, they were essential in keeping the disparate Rebel Cells stocked up on supplies. You couldn't forge alliances between these various groups if you didn't bother to provide them with the means to keep fighting. Hera said one day they'd have a better means of supply beyond smuggling runs, when the cells started acting like a proper Alliance and not a bunch of random insurgents with little in common besides a hatred for the Empire.

Every uprising started somewhere though, and if nothing else it really did feel like they were actually accomplishing something. For awhile they had been on their own, fighting on Lothal by themselves, Ezra thinking they were the only ones sticking it to the Empire's goons. Now there was a whole other world he was a part of. It felt good to know that they weren't alone.

Didn't make things easier though. The Empire was cracking down hard, trying its best to not look weak in the face of the people. Their desire to tighten their iron grip further was driving more people to their cause, but it was also making things more dangerous. Lothal, Ezra's homeworld, had been feeling less and less comforting. He supposed that was why he wasn't too broken up about leaving it behind. Until the Empire was gone completely, Lothal would never be a real home for anyone again.

At least the _Ghost _still felt the same as it ever was, the others saw to that. Zeb had frequent spats with Chopper, Hera asked him for help during routine maintenance checks, Sabine continued to coat the walls in paint and Kanan was always on hand to offer training. At least when they had time, of course. Ezra appreciated whatever downtime he had to spend with the members of his new found family. It kept him from going stir crazy and it was nice to not have to constantly think about the next impending mission for awhile.

However, it did always creep back in. Like right now, as Ezra sat on the large sofa surrounding the holotable in the ship's living quarters. Everyone knew it had to be a big deal if they were getting called away to see Fulcrum or, as he now knew her, Ahsoka Tano. It surprised Ezra to know there was another Jedi out there besides him and Kanan. Well, Ahsoka didn't like to be called that, but it didn't matter to Ezra, he still considered her one.

He had asked Kanan who exactly she was, not very knowledgeable about the Jedi beyond what little he read about them in the various banned texts the Empire didn't want people looking at. According to Kanan, Ahsoka had fought in the Clones Wars alongside some of the greatest Jedi Masters of the Republic era. She had been a highly respected Field Commander, despite her age at the time.

Then something happened. Kanan himself wasn't sure what, but Ahsoka had abandoned the Order and the Jedi way of life. Something about being framed for a crime she didn't commit, that was all Kanan was able to tell him. Near as Ezra could tell, she just walked away and didn't seem to have any regrets about it. It had certainly helped her to survive the infamous Order 66 that killed off the other Jedi. That was a good thing for them, as now Ahsoka was using her considerable experience to assist the Rebellion in defeating the Empire. She apparently had had a lot of practice at this sort of underground warfare before, although Hera didn't explain the specifics as to what that meant.

Regardless, if Ahsoka Tano wanted to see them it had to be something big. She didn't call them up for a personal face to face meeting just to talk about a change to the smuggling schedule. Ezra could sense that this was going to be some kind of super secret operation. That wasn't really the force talking though, just a pure gut feeling. He wasn't the only one feeling it either.

"Any theories on what Fulcrum wants?" A voice asked him, bringing him out of his deep thought.

It was Sabine, the Mandalorian graffiti artist and the Ghost's demolitions expert. Why someone who loved to paint enjoyed blowing stuff up so much Ezra could never pin down. Her pink-tinted stylized armour also made her a unique standout among her people, not that Mandalorians were ever difficult to spot. Their armour wasn't very subtle to begin with after all, Sabine just made it more expressive. Not that he cared that much about what she did with her gear, he was pretty smitten with the girl regardless. He didn't think she felt the same way, but that wasn't exactly a deterrent for him. He was at least making an effort to better understand her art recently. He wasn't doing too good a job, but it was a hurdle he was slowly working past.

But he didn't feel much like flirting today, Sabine always got annoyed when he tried anyway. Lately he had been trying a more novel approach, being casual and talking to her like a person. Perhaps a bit unorthodox, but he got better reactions out of her when he tried that. Besides, he wasn't up to making any greater moves now, not with the looming mission on his mind.

"Just hoping it's not something too crazy," he explained to her. "I'd prefer not having to outrun more TIE Patrols."

"Why? Still sore about how I'm ahead of you in kills?" She asked him with a sly smile.

"No," Ezra tried to deny, not doing a particularly good job of it. "I'm just... you know, it's Fulcrum. Her missions aren't exactly simple. It's bound to be something messy."

Sabine took up a seat beside him, placing her elbow on the holotable and propping up her head with her hand to look at him.

"Look at it this way, the fact she comes to us with those kinds of jobs suggests she has a lot of faith in us," she tried assure him. "She knows we can get it done. We're her go-to people, how cool is that? We're highly valued operatives of an Ex-Jedi Commander!"

"I don't think she'd appreciate you calling her that," Ezra cautioned. "Even with the Ex part in front of it."

"But she is a former Jedi," Sabine reminded him. "Didn't even know they allowed you to quit the Order back then. I guess if the Jedi forced you to follow them they wouldn't have been allies to a democratic Republic for centuries. It just sounds odd to think about quitting."

"Well, maybe she decided she just didn't fit in," Ezra postulated. "She got framed by someone, maybe she felt betrayed."

He didn't want to sound like he was judging her, it wasn't like he had made great choices in his life either. No sense in making judgments about someone abandoning a sacred Order when you were a lowly thief just stealing to survive and only thinking of yourself. Admittedly, he couldn't imagine abandoning something like the Jedi Order, but then again he didn't really know what it is like personally. He only knew a rough esimate through the stories Kanan had shared. At least Ahsoka had tried to help people, instead of giving up for years like him. But that was a different time, now both he and Ahsoka were working to fix things. They all were and that was what mattered now.

"You ever think about asking her to give you some lessons?" Sabine asked inquisitively. "I'm not saying Kanan ain't a great teacher, but it helps to learn from as many professionals as you can. No one ever has one teacher."

"I think Kanan's considered the idea, if only because she might know some things he doesn't," Ezra shrugged. "But it doesn't change anything. Kanan's my master, I want to learn from him. I guess if Ahsoka offers to help though I wouldn't be opposed."

Not that she would, just because she still kept her lightsabers after she left didn't mean she kept to the traditions of the Jedi. At least not all of them most likely. It was likely that her teaching method would be vastly different from Kanan's. Although Ezra would be lying if he said he didn't consider getting some pointers on how to dual wield two lightsabers like she did. After seeing Kanan do the same, he really wanted to know how to do that effectively.

"My guess is she wants us for some kind of sabotage operation," Sabine eventually theorized. "I'm thinking fuel dump or weapons factory."

"That sounds a bit mundane," Ezra admitted. "I think there are tons of other people who could blow up a fuel dump."

"But none of them have my artistry," Sabine argued, only sounding a bit prideful. "Togrutas are a highly cultured people, she obviously noticed my skills and knows I can get it done while sending a message. Like all good art does."

Ezra just gave her a look, silently asking if she was being serious just now. Sabine decided to pop her own head before it got too swollen.

"Alright, seriously though, those types of targets are becoming more and more important now," she explained to him. "Word is the Empire is seriously ramping up production for their war machine. Crippling that before it gets rolling would be a huge boon to us."

He had heard about that over the holonet. Apparently, the Imperial Senate had passed a new initiative allocating more funds and resources to the Imperial Military's defense budget. Saying that the Imperial Senate was passing anything though was a bit of an oxymoron, more accurately they were being given something the Emperor wanted done and voting unanimously for it on his orders. That's just how it worked. Everyone knew that the senate was little more than a mouthpiece for the Empire, it had no real authority or say. This was just another decree in a long line of similar initiatives pushing for a bigger and even greater war machine. As if the Empire needed more money for guns.

"I guess I wouldn't mind destroying some Imperial property," he admitted. "Better than skulking around the back end of the galaxy playing courier."

"It is getting a bit boring," Sabine concurred. "Can't believe I'm saying that about outrunning TIEs, but its hard to deny it's getting a bit tedious."

"Maybe they need to get better pilots," Ezra suggested.

"Maybe they need to get shields on their fighters already and stop making it so easy," Sabine countered.

Ezra decided to stop there, Sabine did the same. It was probably not a good idea to give suggestions on how the Empire could improve its war machine, even in private. Best not to risk jinxing things and through some cosmic coincidence make their lives harder.

"Okay everyone," Hera's voice on the intercom sounded. "We're approaching the rendezvous now. We'll be docking with Fulcrum's ship when we arrive so everyone get ready to disembark."

"Well, duty calls," Sabine stated, jumping up from her seat and getting to her feet. "I better get my gear together."

"Yeah, me too," Ezra agreed, standing up from his seat himself. "And hey, I hope whatever it is Fulcrum wants that you do get to show off your... artistry somehow."

Sabine just offered a small smile back at Ezra.

"Thanks for the reassurance," she said to him, and then she walked off.

It wasn't exactly the best laid bit of flirtation, Ezra suspected that he looked very transparent to her. At least it was something, not much of something, but she responded well enough. Although, Ezra was never really sure if it was just out of pity. Ezra started thinking that perhaps besides Jedi training, he should ask Kanan about girls and how to talk to them properly without looking like a complete desperate idiot. Then he again, he'd probably just try to turn it into a Jedi lesson so maybe Hera was a better source for that. She was a woman after all.

Ezra eventually put it out of his mind, he needed to stay focused on the mission and worrying about whether or not Sabine thought his advances were sad wasn't going to help that. The only woman on his mind right now was Ahsoka and what she had in store for them. He quickly went back to his room to gather his things and then made his way to the airlock.

* * *

Ahsoka Tano's Corvette was your average model for a Blockade Runner, except with a few discreet adjustments like better shields and armor. Hera had been on the ship a few times, but the experience was still a bit new for the rest of the _Ghost _crew. At least this time there wouldn't be as many questions or wide-eyed looks as the initial surprise of the existence of other cells across the galaxy had worn off somewhat. That suited Hera just fine, the only questions they needed to know should only concern whatever reason Ahsoka had called for them.

Hera suspected that this was going to happen sooner or later once the plan had changed. The revelation of the existence of a wider rebellion had opened up a new world for them. That meant more missions, bigger risks, things Hera wasn't sure they were ready for yet. There was no going back from it now though, Mustafar had changed everything for them as did its aftermath. They were bigger players in this now and they had to be ready for what came their way.

Zeb was easily the most eager to hear what Ahsoka had for them. He, like the rest of the crew, was getting a bit tired of smuggling runs. He wanted to punch something in a white helmet already, almost as much Sabine wanted to blow something up with one of her works of art. She couldn't blame them, it was hard doing more work for others instead of acting on their own initiative. It was another consequence of no longer being a single cell with no knowledge outside of it. That and causing the destruction of a Star Destroyer and liberating Jedi prisoner, the Empire notices things like that. You need friends to help you when the Empire takes notice. That much had been made clear by now.

After getting on board they were all swiftly directed towards the main briefing room. Kanan stood beside Hera as they entered, taking things in. There was a large vidscreen on the back wall, with a holotable in the center of the room. Ahsoka was already there, staring at one of the small sensor screens off to the side as they entered. Once she heard the doors open she turned to them, a greeting smile on her face.

"It's good to see you all," she began. "I hope my request didn't come too suddenly."

"We weren't really in the middle of much," Kanan assured her. "Just another smuggler's run. We're mostly hoping at this point that you didn't call us out here for another courier job."

"Please tell me it involves punching a buckethead or two," Zeb pleaded from behind them. "I'm not built for being cooped up in a starship! I need to stretch my legs."

"You'll have plenty of time to do just that," Ahsoka assured him.

That seemed to get the crew excited, but Hera was far more cautious. She did her best to bring some proper balance to that. She was happy at the prospect of hitting the Empire where it hurt, but from how Ahsoka sounded this wasn't your typical mission.

"Sounds like we're going to be on the ground for awhile," she noted. "What exactly are we walking into? Weapons factory? Starship dock?"

"I wish it were so mundane," Ahsoka regretfully stated. "First though, you're going to need a bit of a history lesson. Are any of you familiar with a monster attack on Coruscant during the Clone Wars?"

Ezra and Sabine looked at each other confused, Zeb just perched a brow curiously. Hera, however, turned to Kanan, as he would've been the only one who probably was aware of such an event. Slowly he began to nod.

"Something like that happened I think," he admitted. "I only heard a few details from the Jedi elders about it. Some creature the Republic captured got loose and went on a rampage."

"That's a brief summary," Ahsoka replied. "Allow me to give more details."

Ahsoka turned on the viewscreen, revealing a rather vicious looking creature gazing back at them in a still image. It had a smooth round head, long neck, thick brown scales, three massive arms, one of which was on its back, thin gripping fingers, a tail adorned with spikes and two furious green eyes.

"Whoa, now that's what I call a monster," Sabine noted.

"What is it?" Ezra asked. "I've never seen anything like it."

"It was called a Zillo-Beast," Ahsoka answered, looking towards the screen. "And it's not surprising that you haven't. They were giant creatures who existed on only one known world, Malastare, homeworld of the Dugs. Their species was wiped out long ago by the Dugs when they started extracting their fuel from the planet. It was like a poison to them and this one was the only survivor."

Zeb grumbled aloud and looked to side.

"I know what that's like," he said morosely.

Hera instantly recognized what their Lasat crewmate meant, considering what the Empire had done to his people. The Zillo-Beasts' near extinction was far too similar to his own people's, killed over resources. It had always been a sore point for him.

"How was it discovered?" Hera asked Ahsoka, trying her best to keep the briefing moving.

"In the aftermath of a bomb the Jedi used to defeat a Droid Army on Malastare," Ahsoka explained, as the still image changed to old Clone Wars footage.

Said bomb did indeed look impressive, rendering the attacking droids lifeless husks. It also opened up a huge hole in the ground that swallowed quite a few Clone Troopers nearby. The footage then changed to the Zillo-Beast waking up and starting to break out of said pit to attack the Clones and Dugs directly.

"As you can see, it was not happy to be woken up," Ahsoka continued. "It was even less happy when the Dugs tried to kill it with their gas. The creature however was a lot stronger than they thought. The Republic Forces were eventually able to resolve to situation and stun it with energy weapons."

The footage then showed the Zillo-Beast being hit by a lot of energy beams from Republic tanks and eventually it went down.

"It took that many tanks to put it to sleep," Ezra noted rather astonished. "That's one tough monster."

"Why go through all that trouble to stun it?" Sabine asked curiously. "Why not just kill it?"

"Jedi never seek the death of an innocent creature that has done nothing wrong, especially one that is the last of its kind," Ahsoka answered dutifully. "It had only become a problem because of our weapon. We were trying to save it, bring it some place it couldn't harm anyone."

"But I'm guessing the Republic had other plans," Hera presumed, her brow furrowing in anger.

Ahsoka shook her head.

"Not the Republic, just then-Supreme Chancellor Palpatine," Ahsoka stated, a resonant disgusted tone to her voice as she spoke the name. "The Jedi convinced him to let the beast live because of how durable it was. There was a belief that its scales could help give the Clone Troopers better armor that could withstand several laser blasts."

"So he ordered it taken to Coruscant for study," Kanan reasoned, sharing Ahsoka's frown. "Hmm, yeah that doesn't sound like a bad idea at all."

"Even before he became Emperor, Palpatine wasn't what you'd call humble," Ahsoka explained, still wearing a disapproving glance. "His arrogance got a lot of people killed when the Zillo-Beast broke out and started rampaging through the city."

The footage turned to said rampage as the monstrous, three-armed alien creature tore through the crowded streets, scaled skyscrapers and smashed through anything that got in his way. It was a terrifying sight to behold as nothing seemed capable of even slowing it down. Not even Republic Gunships were a match for it, as it spun around, swiping its massive arms in all directions.

"He had some cool moves, I'll give the thing that much," Sabine noted, trying not to sound like she was admiring the vicious creature's destruction too much.

Hera noticed something different in the footage besides the creature's superior fighting technique. Specifically, how despite the chaos the creature caused, the Zillo-Beast itself seemed almost purposeful in its intent.

"It almost looks like it was on a mission," she observed.

"It was suggested that the Zillo-Beast may have been semi-sentient," Ahsoka replied concurrently. "Or at least intelligent enough to know who its enemy was. Palpatine had decided the quickest way to get what he wanted from the creature was to kill it. When the Zillo-Beast broke free, he went straight for the Senate and the Chancellor. It almost managed to kill him too."

That elicited a hearty laugh from Zeb.

"Heh, I'm liking this monster more and more by the second," he declared grinning. "Shame he didn't manage it, would've saved us a lot of grief."

"Yeah, definitely would've been better for everyone," Kanan concurred, growling under his breath.

Hera didn't realize this mission was going to bring up a lot of old wounds. The very thought that a giant monster had almost removed the greatest tyrant the Galaxy had ever known before he gained full power was enough to conjure up a few "what-ifs" in anyone's mind. That almost made it a shame to see the monster get killed in the next bit of footage as it was bombed with poison gas from above. Like Zeb had said, if they only knew what was going to happen, maybe the Jedi would've let the monster get its revenge.

"When the Zillo-Beast died we thought that was the end of it," Ahsoka continued, her voice growing more dire. "Another tragic casualty of the Republic's growing need to feed its war machine. Now we know that's not the case. It didn't end there, in fact it was just the start."

The footage turned to a darkened room, encased in shadows and full of strange equipment. The camera's user looked rather jittery as it looked about. Eventually, it settled on a large form in the center of whatever room the person was in. The camera then zoomed in on what looked to be a rather familiar hand and long neck, slowly reach up to a single vicious looking primal green eye. It was grainy, blurry and full of static, but the image was clear enough to be sure, it was another Zillo-Beast.

"They found another one of those things?" Sabine asked astonished.

"No, they made it," Ahsoka corrected her. "Another one of the Emperor's many tricks against the Jedi. According to our inside source, he's been trying to clone the Zillo-Beast since the day it was killed."

"But why?" Hera asked, her face contorting more out of confusion than shock. "He got the scales, he improved the armor for the Clone Army, why make another one?"

"That's the troubling part," Ahsoka informed her grimly. "You saw what that thing could do against the most advanced army of the Republic's heyday. It was wild and independent, but still destroyed a chunk of Coruscant before they stopped it. Now imagine one that can be controlled and what it could do against, say, a Rebel Insurgency."

Thoughts instantly came to Hera's mind. A Zillo-Beast on Lothal would make things even way more difficult on that planet than it was now. They wouldn't be able to move without that thing crashing through the streets to stop them. They had nothing in their arsenal that could stop it, slow it down, nothing. The only option would be to run and hide. They wouldn't be able to fight it. With Imperial Stormtroopers backing it up, any uprising would be near impossible to achieve.

"A suppression unit," she coldly concluded. "You put a giant monster on a planet, maybe one or two for each city and you basically have the ultimate Rebellion squasher. Any and all movement would be heavily restricted just by it being there."

"Making life very difficult for any cell trying to accomplish anything of significance," Ahsoka added in a dire sense of tone. "Convoys,important military assets, government buildings, prisoner camps, anything these new Zillo-Beasts chose to guard would become impenetrable. Mass uprisings, protests, any major acts of dissent would be impossible. The Empire would have full control of the ground and maybe even more than that if our source's information is accurate."

"What do you mean more?" Ezra asked cautiously, not wanting to know the answer.

"Weapons systems," the ex-Jedi Commander responded. "As if that thing needs to be even more powerful they may be putting guns on it now."

Well, that just made things infinitely worse didn't it? Hera just wanted to know one this at this point.

"How long until its ready for deployment?" She asked, not bothering to hide her concern.

"Right now, unknown," Ahsoka admitted. "They're still in prototype phase, full-scale production is a ways off. But we know they'll be testing it soon. Rebel activity is on the rise and the Empire is getting desperate to find something, anything that can quell it."

"And they're turning to this crazy idea that's been in development for years?" Zeb asked, not sounding entirely convinced. "Come on, I get the concept and all, but even for the Empire this is a bit ridiculous."

Zeb had a point, it was an outlandish idea. However, she had learned long ago that the Empire could stoop to some pretty insane extremes to get what it wanted. A monster playing overwatch for an entire city, hardly the craziest thing she had heard of. Although admittedly it was still pretty high on the list.

"I'd rather not take the chance and see this thing get out the door," Ahsoka was quick to counter. "The Empire rules the galaxy through fear. Even just one of those things popping up on a planet in the Outer Rim could scare a lot people away from the Rebellion. The thought alone of their world becoming the next place they'll send one to might be enough to dissuade people away from our cause."

"Better safe than sorry I guess," Kanan concluded. "So how do we take this thing down? Drop a bunch of that Malastare Gas on it when it goes out for its test run?"

Ahsoka shook her head.

"That's not going to solve the problem," she sadly informed him. "They're far enough along in their development that they'll just grow another one. We'll set them back a month or two, if they don't just head right into full production regardless. To remove this threat entirely we need to destroy the main lab where they're growing this thing and all of the research involved."

Sabine just clenched her fist and pumped it slightly into the air Ahsoka's words.

"Yes, blow something up," she said gleefully. "You sure you Jedi can't read minds? Cause you just did with me."

Ahsoka gave off an uncomfortable smile at the Mandolorian's words. Sabine had said the J-word to her, Hera knew that was a problematic sticking point for Ahsoka . It had to do with why she left the Order, although the twi'lek pilot had never asked the Togruta ex-Padawan about it. She only knew that Ahsoka had been really close to becoming a Knight and then her whole worldview came crashing down. The Jedi, the Republic, the Clone Wars, it just didn't seem to matter anymore. Ahsoka had never gone into the why she felt that way, just that when she had decided to leave that it made sense.

"Jedi can't do that," she sheepishly said at long last. "I'm positive."

Hera decided to help Ahsoka get away from the awkward moment, pushing her back on track for the briefing.

"Where we can we find this lab?" She asked pressingly.

Ahsoka turned their attention to the holotable in the center of the room, activating it to reveal the image of a planet. It had three moons and the information next to it suggested that it had breathable atmosphere. It had two large continents, separated by a vast sea and a number of environmental zones ranging from tropical to desert.

"This is the planet Tsuburonda, in the Eijira System," Ahsoka informed them. "It's a resource rich world, but devoid of any sentient life. The system's sun is highly volatile, letting off infrequent barrages of radiation. The planet itself is largely unaffected, the radiation bounces off the atmosphere, creating an almost constant display of aurora lights in the skies. The problem is that residual radiation over the course of millions of years has seeped into the soil, making extracting resources and farm life more trouble than its worth. The local wildlife is also rather aggressive and highly evolved, sticking to the forests mostly. I won't even go into the oceans, place makes the water inhabitants on Naboo look like fishbowl fodder by comparison."

"A planet full of mutant animals and radiation soaked soil," Zeb grumbled. "Lovely."

"Like I said, the radiation above ground barely even registers," Ahsoka assured him. "You'd need to live on that planet for at least sixty years before it started to affect you. The Empire only moved the Zillo-Beast cloning project out there seven years ago so it could be more discreet. Not to mention so it could exploit the planet's resources for said project unmolested. It hasn't be easy for them to get around the radioactive soil, which could explain why it's taken them so long to make significant headway."

"You sold me when you said the sky was constantly full of color," Sabine declared, cracking a slight grin at it all. "I'm liking this mission more and more."

"You may not when you realize the major problem we're facing and why I called you," Ahsoka replied gravely. "The planet is surrounded by an Imperial Blockade of Star Destroyers. They also have an Orbital Gun positioned on the ground, making it impossible to land planetside without getting blown to atoms."

As Ahsoka spoke, the Star Destroyers and Orbital Gun were highlighted on the holoscreen. There did indeed seem to be a lot of them. How were they going to get past all of that?

"We can't just slip by a blockade of that size," Hera warned. "They're bound to see us approaching."

"No, we can't just slip by, but we do have a ticket in," Ahsoka declared, sounding a bit more sly in her response as she did. "The radioactive nature of the planet makes eating any food that grows there dangerous. The only living things that can survive eating any fruits or whatnot are the animals who have evolved to survive on that world. The Empire needs to either rigorously decontaminate the food, which is really hard when it grows in radioactive soil. Or they need to get it from off-world. That's your ticket in. With the _Ghost's_ ability to mask its signature, it can pass for a delivery ship and sneak by the blockade. Once you shake any escort, you can then covertly land and begin the next phase of the plan."

"Taking out the Orbital Cannon, I presume," Hera suggested rather knowingly.

"Precisely," Ahsoka nodded. "With it gone, or better yet captured, we can use a small fleet of ships to push past the blockade and land some troops on the surface. Then we can move to assault the main lab and destroy it before the Zillo-Beasts move into mass production."

This whole mission had just got a bit bigger than Hera had thought it would be. Troops? Landing craft? Ahsoka was suggesting more than just a simple sabotage mission.

"This sounds like an invasion," she noted. "Do we even have that kind of manpower?"

"It's more like a raid, we're not actually going to occupy the planet, just destroy one facility," Ahsoka tried to correct. "And we do have that kind of manpower, at least now we do anyway. It took a lot of favors, some of it involving your smuggling work actually, but we managed to convince enough other Rebel Cells to join in on the coming assault."

Of all the things Hera thought they were getting into, this hadn't even approached her mind. She always hoped for something like this, but never this soon. An overt assault on a major Imperial installation, involving a secret project of the Empire no less. They had done some pretty big things in the past, but never at this scale. To take on something this big would require a lot of people working together and that invariably meant a ton of cells united to this cause. That was a scale of unity among the growing number of dissidents never before seen. That either meant they took this threat really seriously, had faith this plan could succeed or were likely really itching to hurt the Empire bad.

That last one was probably the more popular one among those who joined up, but Hera hoped enough of them believed in the objective more than anything and that getting revenge was just secondary. It was hard to tell the motivations for a lot of the other cells, at least from what Ahsoka had told her. They all had different reasons for rebelling and thus different agendas.

Some wanted the Old Republic to return, believing that they could reform what had been so easily corrupted. Others believed the systems deserved more independence from each other, feeling the Separatist Confederacy of the Clone Wars had the right idea but the wrong execution. A few even believed in dissolving governments altogether, let the people of the Galaxy run their own lives. The ideologies of the different Cells ranged from moderate to extreme along those lines and there were few commonalities.

This was one of the many hurdles of organizing a Galactic Rebellion. Their caused relied on involving different worlds, species and peoples in coming to an agreement about how to defeat the Empire as well as what should replace it. It was a problem that had plagued Hera for years, steaming from the harsh lessons she learned as a child. It cost her family and her people far too much. Success against the Imperials meant showing the Galaxy that there was a viable alternative to it. A bunch of squabbling chaotic cells who couldn't even agree with one another wasn't going to convince anyone.

"What exactly do we know about these assault forces?" Kanan asked inquisitively. "What kind of weapons are they bringing in on this? I'd like to know before we commit to anything."

"We've scrounged together enough heavy weapons and explosives for the mission," Ahsoka stated assuredly. "We've even managed to acquire and repair some old Republic Era assault vehicles. Not as strong as any of the Empire's new stuff, but they're effective nonetheless. Better yet, we'll have air support."

Well that was a relief, any Imperial Facility like the one they were talking about was bound to have a ton of TIEs protecting it her. Between her and the _Ghost_, she could out fly a few squads, but only for so long. Some wingmen helping her out on this kind of mission would take a bit of the pressure off of her. She just hoped they were good or at least had some decent fighters.

"Are they armed with old Clone Wars ships too?" Sabine asked, sounding a bit terse. "I'd hate to think the only things we can get now are Old Republic hand me downs."

"The bombers are mostly repurposed ones they fixed up," Ahsoka explained. "The fighters they have are similarly heavily upgraded. They should be more than a match for any TIE pilots on the planet. They've been hitting Imperial Convoys for well over two years now, so they have experience."

Hera hoped they did, considering they signed up this mission. She was interested about these repurposed and upgraded starfighters though, that peaked her interested greatly. There were other concerns though besides having good people helping them as well as decent equipment.

"Alright, so we got some tanks and bombers, great," Zeb noted. "What does the Empire got? If this thing is so important, I imagine they got a big garrison keeping watch over it."

"According to our source, the blockade is their primary method of defense," Ahsoka explained. "The resource gathering and production facilities soak up a lot of their local garrison. That's not even counting their outposts. If everything goes as planned, we hit the Main Lab a few hours after we land before the Empire can respond. We get past their defenses, blow up the lab and make a break for orbit and hyperspace while they're still in disarray."

That sounded like they didn't have much room for mess ups. That raised some concern for Hera, plans never really survived the first few minutes of implementation. Ahsoka was smart, she probably had contingencies, but Hera wanted to be sure.

"So what happens if something goes wrong?" She asked her. "If the Empire responds faster than we're prepared for or we get slowed down..."

"We'll have to adjust our plan accordingly," Ahsoka succinctly responded. "With a little extra recon from you, we can better plan for contingencies. Our source is good, but they don't have total clearance. Some extra eyes on the ground before we start the attack could help us evaluate our strategy better. If worst comes to worst and our forces can't break through, some of us will have to use the chaos to sneak inside and blow the lab. It may be our only shot at that point before we're forced to evacuate."

Still not a lot of room for failure. Hopefully they could adapt faster than the Empire could if something went wrong. That is, if Kanan decided to mission was worth it. They were co-leaders, but ultimately Kanan decided if they were up for it. She could see him mulling over the details in his mind.

"It is a pretty big step," he finally voiced aloud. "And highly dangerous. Are you positive this... Zillo-Beast is almost ready for deployment?"

"According to my source, most certainly," Ahsoka confidently stated. "And given what's happened lately, I wouldn't be surprised if one of the first places they deployed it was Lothal."

Kanan looked back towards Ezra at that. Hera did as well and saw the young boy had a great look of concern at that possibility. Lothal was already locked down enough, a giant monster parading across the planet would be even worse. If this project did bear fruit, Hera didn't doubt Lothal would a prime testing ground.

"Alright," Kanan finally relented. "We're in Fulcrum. We'll take that Orbital Cannon for you and see about removing anything else that might be an obstacle. But I really hope these cells you've gathered together are reliable."

"I share the same hope, Kanan," Ahsoka astutely informed him. "If you want, I brought some extra weaponry for you all. Its in the armory. It could help in your mission groundside."

"Sweet, dibs on the thermal detonators," Sabine declared jubilantly.

Hera let the others go off to peruse the armory. She told Kanan she'd catch up, there probably wasn't much there she'd want there anyway. Her blaster had served her faithfully for years now. She didn't exactly need to start carrying more. Besides, she wanted to talk to Ahsoka in private, there was a bit more on her mind she didn't want to talk about in front of the others.

"This is about more than just taking out this Zillo-Beast clone," she told the former Jedi. "It's about all these other cells involved, isn't it?"

"Unity is the one thing we're lacking now, Hera," Ahsoka was quick to remind her. "The Rebellion can't grow if we remain divided like this. If we can pull this off, it will show the other cells what we can do together. It will be the first step to a real Alliance."

"And that's great, but this is pretty big," Hera told her, motioning to the holotable with the image of the planet still on it. "I always thought if we got multiple cells together it would be for something... smaller. A starship dry dock, a Walker Factory, a Forced Labor Camp liberation, not a raid on a secret Imperial Science Facility."

Ahsoka bowed her head, realizing her twi'lek friend had a point.

"I know, this isn't how I planned it to go either," she admitted. "But I trust my information. We don't have time. If it were up to me, we'd hold off until we had more people, remove as many risks as possible to our success. We don't have that option. The Empire isn't going to wait for us and once they've proven the beast clone as viable they're going to set up multiple production facilities. This is our one chance to put a stop to it before that happens."

Hera understood that, but it was still a shock that they were going so fast. She wondered if the history of the Zillo-Beast played a role in the decision as well. Palpatine had made this project a reality and he had done it under the noses of the Jedi. Another one of his tricks against the Galaxy's protectors.

"I know this must feel personal to you," she stated solemnly to Ahsoka. "I can tell Kanan feels the same way."

"We shouldn't have brought that thing to Coruscant," Ahsoka answered flatly. "We shouldn't have listened to a lot Palpatine's orders. We should've seen the signs of what was coming, but... the war clouded everything. In fighting to protect the Republic, we helped quicken its destruction. Now this old mistake is coming back to haunt us."

"It wasn't your fault, Ahsoka," Hera tried to comfort her. "The Jedi weren't the only people fooled by Palpatine."

"But they paid the greatest price, one I barely escaped paying myself," the togruta was quick to add.

She walked over to the holotable and stared at where the main lab was located on the planet.

"I'm fixing what we broke," she proclaimed. "Plain and simple. If any good will come out of this, it will be helping to convince the other Rebels the need for unity in this fight."

"Let's hope that we can achieve that much at least then," Hera concurred, before quickly changing the subject. "But, you know there are other ways to fix what the Empire broke."

Ahsoka turned her head slightly to Hera, a knowing expression on her face.

"If you're going to suggest what I think you are..."

"Hear me out for a second," Hera said quickly. "Kanan never really got as much experience as he should've before Order 66 came down. It would really help him and Ezra if you considered offering them some help in their Jedi training."

"I'm not a Jedi anymore, Hera," Ahsoka flatly replied. "I'm not sure that's such a good idea."

"If Ezra is ever going to become a true Jedi he is going to need guidance from as many knowledgeable people as possible," Hera insisted. "Before it was just Kanan, but now you're here. Both of them could learn much from you. I know it."

Ahsoka was quiet for about a minute. She appeared lost in her thoughts, deeply thinking about Hera's words. Eventually though, she just sighed.

"Trust me on this, they don't want me as a teacher," she stated. "I abandoned the Jedi, I abandoned that life. That person I was isn't me anymore."

"Kanan felt the same way," Hera admitted. "But he found that he didn't need to deny it anymore."

"That's different, he didn't have a choice," Ahsoka corrected her. "I had one and I chose to leave. It just doesn't feel right to me."

Hera sighed sadly, not the reaction she had wanted. At least she had entertained the idea for a while.

"Could you at least consider it?" She requested. "Kanan thought he was alone for so long, the only surviving Padawan of the old Order. You being alive, it's given him hope, Ezra too. You may not think you have something to offer them, but you've given them that. It's something."

She waited for Ahsoka to respond, but she said nothing.

"I better go see how the others are doing then," Hera finally concluded. "We'll contact you when we're planetside."

Hera left the room, hoping that her friend and ally was considering her words. Ahsoka was an opportunity for Kanan and Ezra, she didn't want it wasted. There was still hope though, Ahsoka would be on this mission with them eventually. Maybe the close proximity to the two would convince her to change her mind. Like everything else today, it didn't hurt to hope for the best.

* * *

The illuminated skies of the planet Tsuburonda performed their usual dance of celestial lights. Greens, golds, blues and yellows shifted and changed in the sky, creating an awe inspiring sight. No one at the main lab facility's landing pad were paying attention to them, however. Everyone's eyes were instead glued to a single descending starship.

The Imperial Shuttle slowly moved towards the docking platform, a full platoon of Stormtroopers close by with their General standing at attention, smothing out his greying beard as he waited. His second, a younger Commander in his mid-thirties with a goatee, was close by. Close to him was an Imperial Overseer, dressed in formal attire and sporting very garish sideburns. They did their best to stand at full attention as the shuttle landed and its hatch dropped down. Moments later a black armored figure emerged from the opening, a small detachment of his own Stormtroopers following him close behind. The menacing, ominous sound of the figure's breathing apparatus echoed through the air, growing louder as the figure approached with his cape billowing in the wind as he marched.

The Imperial officers quickly bowed their heads and stood at attention. The intimidating glare of the black armored man's frightful mask looked towards the Overseer slowly. He did his best to keep a straight face and not show any fear. You did not want to betray weakness in front of Darth Vader after all, right hand of the Emperor's will.

"Welcome to Tsuburonda, Lord Vader," the Imperial Overseer greeted. "I am Varius Nulon, Overseer of this facility. This is General Sakal and Commander Klusto, they are in charge of the planet's garrison. We are most pleased to have you here, my Lord, as we are approaching the culmination of-"

"Spare me your platitudes, Overseer Nulon," Lord Vader said glaring at him, his voice booming as he spoke. "I have not come here to listen to your patronizing banality. I am here to ensure that this project is nearing completion and that you are not wasting the Emperor's time."

"Of course, Lord Vader," Nulon quickly stated, backing off and bowing his head once more. "I did not mean to offend. I only wished to express how humbled we are to have-"

"Enough," Vader said silencing him. "Your groveling is most demeaning, to yourself and others. I wish to assess your progress immediately. Lead me to the main lab."

"Yes, of course," Nulon said, trying to look more pathetic than he already seemed, motioning Vader to follow him down a nearby set of steps towards a turbolift. "I can take you to our main lab right away."

As Vader followed the Overseer, so to did General Sakal and Commander Klusto close behind. Vader sensed them before they even opened their mouths to speak.

"Do you wish for us to accompany you, Lord Vader?" The General asked astutely. "I imagine you wish to speak to us about the local garrison."

"In due time, but my primary concern is what you are guarding at the moment," Vader quickly informed him. "Follow if you must, but unless you have any insight on the project itself, remain silent."

That earned a nod from Sakal, who kept far behind Vader for the rest of the walk to the turbolift. That freed up the Sith Lord to speak to Nulon in full. Mostly about how displeased his master was.

"I trust you have explanations for many of the Emperor's concerns about this project," Vader presumed. "Such as why it has taken until now for you to produce any results."

"Resource management and funding hasn't exactly been easy to come by," Nulon tried to explain. "We've been stalled financially in that regard in acquiring the appropriate materials we need to perfect the cloning process."

"You have been given substantial capital over the course of several years," Vader viciously noted. "Your excuse is hollow. We have continued to allocate funds to this project in varying degrees, depending on your results, which have been few. The Emperor is starting to question if you are using those funds properly."

"We are, my Lord, I assure you," Nulon fretfully answered. "But resource management and capital are only one of our concerns. We have had setbacks over the years, as our Chief Scientist shall better explain in full. Suffice to say, we are not the Kaminoans. We are not as adept in cloning as they were, especially not in the case of, well, giant monsters."

Another excuse, Darth Vader thought. They had given them substantial files and documentation concerning the cloning methods of the Kaminoans. How hard was it to transfer that knowledge onto a creature such as the Zillo-Beast? While it had been a unique animal, it was still as flesh and blood as any organic was. Perhaps the chief scientist would better enlighten him as to the complications. As it stood though, the Overseer just appeared to be offering excuse after excuse for the delays in production. It was not all that encouraging, to say the least.

The small party walked onto the turbolift now, Klusto shutting the door as they entered. All the while, Nulon kept trying to talk Vader's ear off about the project and their progress. It reeked of desperation to cover up his shortcomings and the Sith Lord was quickly growing tired of the man. Then again, he grew tired of most politicians and bureaucrats fairly easily. Nulon was no different than the mulling Imperial Senators back on Coruscant who still thought they had a semblance of power. How he hoped they'd be rid of them soon. He couldn't stand their interference in the governing of the Empire, no matter how minor.

His master assured him they were a necessary evil for the moment. They needed to buy time, which was why this project was so important. They needed something to keep order until they were ready, something that would put down these pockets of Rebellion. Once their true superweapon was completed, once Grand Moff Tarkin finished its construction, nothing would stand in the way of final everlasting peace. Then the real work, as his master put it, could begin. Until that day though, they had to look for alternatives to maintaining order and tolerate blowhards like Nulon.

"If nothing else, you'll be pleased to know the simulations we've run given our current accumulated data suggest the project has the potential to exceed current expectations," the Overseer confidently assured. "Pacification of riots and other dissident activity is practically total. And that is not even factoring in our upgrades to the creature's natural destructive tendencies."

"I am well aware of the Zillo-Beast's capabilities, Overseer," Vader informed him curtly. "I do not need reassurances that it is a viable method of pacification. I require evidence that you are as close to putting the cloning process into full production as you claimed in your latest report. In all honesty, I am not convinced that is the case."

Vader felt he had every right to play the skeptic card. They had gotten assurances every other year that progress was being made. Each report claimed they were close. It was tolerated at first, given how long the Clone Army took to build up. Now, with small uprisings spreading across the Outer Rim and threatening to spill over beyond it, the Emperor's tolerance was at an end. It was time to find out whether those in charge were deliberately sabotaging the project or were simply incompetent.

Vader had been ordered to see for himself if the project was truly near success and, depending on his assessment, to ensure that they wasted no more of the Empire's time. Either he would shut down the project today, or Vader would push development of the Zillo-Beast clone to it's conclusion. Its production would no longer be hindered by delays and mismanagement, deliberate or otherwise.

"You'll soon see the complications we've had for yourself, Lord Vader," Nulon hurriedly explained. "The holding area will be our first stop."

"Holding area?" Vader asked, confused by their destination. "You have prisoners here?"

"Not exactly," Nulon corrected. "They're more like... the reject pile."

The doors to the turbo lift opened wide revealing a large lined with several small cells. It was like miniature detainment block for a prison. However, the cells did not contain people. Vader approached one of the cells on the ground floor to get a better view of the occupant. A mangled mess of organic tissue began banging its fists against the shielding that locked it in. It appeared to be a miniature Zillo-Beast, but wrong in so many ways. Its tail was where its third arm should be, it sported an extra pair of eyes on top of its head, the scales were uneven, its feet bigger and missing toes. Vader could only shake his head.

"Mutations," he easily discerned. "Failures of your cloning process."

Vader looked out onto the row of cells that lined the walls of the room, each no doubt filled with a failed Zillo-Beast clone of varying degrees of imperfect alterations. Missing and added parts were one thing, but looking at the mutation in the cell in front of him Vader saw the true problem. It was easily detectable in the very eyes of the creature.

"I sense nothing but mindless rage from this creature," he stated bluntly, before quickly turning to Nulon. "This is not acceptable. We need Zillo-Beasts who are controllable, that will bend to our will, that we can direct. There is nothing within the minds of these monstrosities to control."

"Yes, that is precisely why they are the rejects and why we locked them up in here," Nulon quickly explained.

"Then why, Overseer, have you produced so many worthless miniature clones over the years?" Vader demanded to know.

"It was a necessary step, Lord Vader."

That voice was frightened and mulling, more calm, cool, collected, formal and familiar to Vader. Approaching them from further along the cell lined hall was a Bivall in a lab coat with a datapad in hand. Her red crest stood out among the more properly dressed Imperial Officials and Stormtrooper guards standing about. Her eye stalks on either side of her head only briefly looked away from her datapad as she approached, she only stood at full attention when she stopped in front of Vader and Nulon.

"Lord Vader, this our Chief Scientist, Doctor-"

"Sionver Boll," Darth Vader finished for him. "I am aware. She was in charge of the original Zillo-Beast project and was placed into this position at this project's inception."

"I'm surprised you are familiar with my work, Lord Vader, and honored of course," Doctor Boll humbly replied.

Vader had known Boll when he had still been a Jedi, when he had still been Anakin Skywalker. He honestly hadn't imagined at the time he'd ever seen her again after the first Zillo-Beast's destruction. It was interesting that the Emperor had let her stay on this project so long, given how little success she had achieved. Perhaps Nulon wasn't the only person he should be directing his ire against.

"I would hope you have an explanation for this specimen repository, Doctor," he asked, motioning to the entire prison block.

"The Zillo-Beast's genetic structure is highly unique in comparison to other organic life forms," She astutely explained. "We tried cloning the creature on a smaller scale at first in an attempt to better understand its unique biology on a less trying scale. However, the cloning process proved imperfect even at such a small scale, producing these creatures you see before you. Before we even attempted larger scale, we needed to crack the Zillo-Beast's genetic code in order to properly reproduce it to the specifications the Emperor outlined for us."

"Why keep these abominations alive then?" Vader asked derisively.

"To better understand our shortcomings, killing them would've made discovering where the cloning process was falling short more difficult," Boll explained. "We gathered samples from each of the creatures, slowly perfecting each failing. It is only now that we even dared risk a full-scale clone."

It was at that moment that Sakal suddenly spoke up, walking up to stand beside Boll.

"To be honest, Lord Vader," the General stated firmly. "I believe that we should've put the animals down. Corralling them into these cages has proved hazardous for many of my men. If there is anything that we could've ascertained about the Doctor's short comings, they would've been just as easy to spot after an autopsy."

"Perhaps," Boll replied, trying not to act too defensively against the General's accusations. "But if we had killed them we would not have been able to overcome the problems with making the bigger one more subservient. I cannot obtain sufficient data on a brain that's dead, General."

Boll retained her ground, even as Sakal glared at her. It was only when Commander Klusto suddenly interrupted did the angered staring contest end.

"Doctor Boll's decision was unorthodox, I agree, but it provided us with much needed information and gave us a better understanding of the capabilities of the creatures we were making," He explained to Vader. "The General is only voicing the difficulties we had in containing them initially. It kept our people sharp. Overall, the Doctor's decisions have always been in the best interests of the project."

"Thank you, Commander," Boll stated, turning away from a slightly perturbed Sakal. "I appreciate your confidence in me."

As Klusto grinned a bit, Boll looked back to Vader with the same sense of conviction she had shown Sakal moments before.

"Besides, we also needed them to test our cybernetic enhancements," she continued. "We didn't want to risk damaging our only living specimen that wasn't a mindless uncontrollable animal. Through keeping them alive, we were able to discover how best to control the final specimen through advanced cybernetic implants. The creature is docile towards us. It will only respond to issued commands and the core programming that we have instilled into it."

"Then I trust the prototype is ready," Vader said, intrigued by the information.

"Nearly," Boll assured. "If it will satisfy you and the Emperor, however, you can see for yourself."

Boll led the small group into the main hangar in the lab facility. There, Vader looked upon the fruits of over a decade of work. There standing before him, bound within massive metal restraints, was a Zillo-Beast. Vader looked up towards its giant head and saw the familiar terrifying gaze of the creature staring back. down at him

He remembered how he had first come across its progenitor, the giant creature that had torn through Coruscant and nearly killed his master. To think that the Jedi had been so insistent on letting that thing live, considering what it had almost cost the galaxy. Padme had been swayed by their weak-willed compassion for the monster as well, another instance of the Jedi, most notably Kenobi, turning her against him.

In the end though, it turned out for the best. The monster's rampage had given his Master a clearer vision, one of a creature that could stomp out their enemies before they rose to threaten the Empire. No army could stand against this thing and the only people who knew how to properly kill it, were allied with the Empire itself. Only they possessed the formula for the Poison Gas that had sufficiently killed the original monster. Of course, the Emperor had been wise enough to consider removing that particular weakness so long as the project proved viable.

It wasn't exactly the same as the original monster, however. It had been... improved for lack of a better term. For one thing, it was much bigger than first one, close to three hundred and fifty feet, far more intimidating that way and less vulnerable to explosives as well. Half of the creature's head was encased in a silver metal face plate. This was clearly a sign of where the command and control implant had been installed, as well as an advanced targeting system for the creature's new long-ranged weaponry.

Such examples of said weaponry could be easily seen from even this far away. Missile packs on its shoulders, gauntlets on both its wrists, armed with laser and cannon weapon. The third top arm was slumped down along the back though, so he couldn't see if the same held true for it or if they had done something else with it. A large chestplate on the creature's torso was also visible. Hopefully that contained the barrage weaponry component the Emperor had commissioned. The creature's open mouth also revealed what appeared to be a sustained energy beam weapon of significant potency installed within.

Everything seemed to be the Emperor's specifications. He still had yet to see the tail and third arm though, he'd have to later in order to be sure all parameters had been met. He also saw some other additions that were curious. Vader noticed parts of one of the legs and both frontal arms had been replaced with cybernetic parts too, he suspected what these were for but chose to confirm it anyway.

"I trust the added prosthetics were to make-up for shortcomings," he presumed.

"The cloning process is still a work in progress, but this is our most successful prototype so far," Doctor Boll astutely answered. "The prosthetics do not hinder mobility as far as we can tell, only strengthen the creature's skeletal structure. The weapons systems have increased its destructive capacity tenfold. The tail itself has been outfitted with electrical field generators, making the spikes even more deadly than before."

Boll hadn't really changed much in the years it seemed, her voice still constantly resonated with the near robotic, professional attitude that Vader remembered her for. That was somewhat comforting, it suggested she was actually mindful and focused on her task.

"And the third arm?" Vader asked.

"We're still installing the final components," Boll replied. "The enhancements there will hopefully be to your liking when they're finished."

Vader walked closer to the creature, taking it all in. This was their suppression unit, the creature that would keep the enemies of order down. At the very least, it would prevent any substantial uprising from occurring until Tarkin was finished with the next super weapon. Who knows, maybe they could actually give the Grand Moff more time to fine tune the station, make sure there wasn't any design flaw they overlooked. For now though, it just meant trouble spots like Lothal would soon stop being such a thorn in the Empire's side.

"How soon can it be ready for testing?" Vader asked aloud.

"We've set up a trial run date two weeks from now," Nulon informed him. "We'll have everything installed by then."

"Is it operational at the moment?" Vader asked next.

"Yes," Boll answered, her formal tone slightly cracking under the sudden questioning. "But we still have weapons and systems checks to perform. Not to mention the command and control terminal is still being refined. We need to be sure there are no bugs in the system to-"

"Unacceptable," Vader commanded. "If it is operational now, it will be tested now."

The order forced everyone in the room to take pause, even Sakal spoke up.

"Lord Vader, we need time to properly go over everything," he stated. "I wish to see what this creature can do as much as the next, but isn't the safety of our forces-"

"The security of the Galaxy is all that concerns me and my Master," Vader informed him. "Too many dissidents and terrorists are rising to challenge the Empire's Authority. I will not allow it to continue longer than it already has. You have had enough time to refine and perfect this project, it will see completion before I leave here and full scale production will begin in earnest once that is done."

"We still require time," Doctor Boll hastily insisted. "Installation of the final components is still required and our command and control unit still needs to be test to ensure full control. If we rush into this we risk damaging our only prototype. It will take months to regrow and reconstruct a new one if something catastrophic happens. That's more time and credits wasted, Lord Vader. We cannot afford that at this stage."

"She's right," Commander Klusto finally spoke up. "We still haven't even found time to set up the testing field. We don't even have anything ready for it to shoot at right now. We at least need some time to set that up, we're still scouting locations for a suitable site on the planet."

Vader thought it over, perhaps testing now this late in the day's rotation would be ill advised. But he wasn't going to wait two weeks just to see if this worked. He had other duties to attend to after all.

"You have four days to sort these complications," he commanded.

"Four days?" Nulon shouted wide-eyed "We can't possibly-"

Vader threateningly pointed a finger in Nulon's face.

"Four days, Overseer, I will not wait a moment longer," he viciously commanded. "You will advise your subordinates to double their efforts and they will have this prototype ready for its first test run. I will not allow you to waste more of my time."

"But four days is-"

"Sufficient, Doctor," Vader boomed as turned to Boll. "Be grateful I have given you that much and pray I do not see fit to decrease it further."

Boll bowed her head capitulation, as did Nulon.

"It will be done, Lord Vader," Boll submitted.

"See that it is," Vader commanded. "I will not tolerate further disappointment. Now, General Sakal, Commander Klusto, direct me towards your garrison's main head quarters. I wish to properly inspect your forces."

"At once Lord Vader," Sakal responded. "Follow me, please."

Vader followed Sakal and Klusto out, leaving Boll and Nulon to ponder their deadline. They would increase their efforts, they had no choice. That was the nature of the Empire, you either performed at peak efficency or you failed in the face of them. Nulon had already learned that he could no longer think of this position as some simple assignment. Now he understood the gravity and would show real initiative. With any luck he would not need to show the same firm hand with Sakal's forces. Everyone needed to understand the importance of this project's success. At this crucial stage, there could be nothing to potentially risked the Zillo-Beast's deployment. He was the Emperor's will made manifest, and all those on this planet would soon realize what that meant.

* * *

It was hard to compare the forests of Tsuburonda to anything else in the galaxy. The trees, affected over the millenia by the radiation of the sun, had reached staggering heights. The only trees that came close were those on the Wookiee home world. Tsuburonda's forests weren't a carbon copy, however. Kashyyyk's trees twisted about, creating dense foliage and interconnected branches. Tsuburonda's trees were less about twisting and more about bulk. Branches spread out from the top while the trunks reached up further and further towards the sky. The trees were also all coated in heavy layers of fungus and moss. It was a very earthy smelling forest, thick with grime and dirt. It was also very dark at night, which was a surprising trait on a planet with three moons and a constant display of dancing lights in the sky.

Any Imperial Speeder scouts who went out this late always feared they'd get lost. It was why they had set up additional lookout and watchtower posts within the trees themselves at this point, so they wouldn't have to worry about waiting until morning until they could find their way back. The whole ordeal of patrolling the forests wouldn't have been such a priority if not for all the wild animals who kept making a nuisance of themselves and charging into any camps set up in the area. If they wanted to keep the local wildlife at bay, they had to keep up these patrols, it was just how it was.

One such patrol had only just left the the outpost an hour back. They were making another sweep of the area. There was some concern about a group of Draxen Mantises about, vicious giant insect creatures the size of a small hoverbus who kept trying to take off the heads of any Stormtroopers they came across. If they were out here they'd have to take them down. Eventually these bugs would learn to stay away from the outpost if they kept getting shot near it.

Private Arch stopped his speeder near one of the trunks of tree. Dismounting the vehicle and taking his blaster off his back, Arch surveyed the area with his rifle's mounted flashlight. According to the other patrols, the Mantises were spotted heading towards this area. With any luck they could find the track and then kill the bothersome insects. As he continued to search, his patrol partner, Corporal Kuro pulled up next to his own speeder and stopped.

"Find anything?" He asked as he dismounted.

"I just started looking," Arch responded. "Relax."

"Sorry, just in the mood to shoot something," Kuro explained. "Someone took the last Nerf Burger at the mess today and I'm missing my holoshows right now. Killing a bug would help me feel better, you know?"

Arch just nodded and continued searching.

"I heard the Sergeant say if we find them he's going to have the bodies sterilized and decontaminated so we can cook him," he told Kuro. "I think he's curious to see if the rumors that they taste good are true."

"Well that should make for an interesting dinner," Kuro concurred. "Don't get your hopes up though. Regulations and all that about eating anything on this planet are pretty tight."

Maybe, but Arch could dream. He was getting tired of waiting for the usual food drops to come by every couple of months. They never got anything special, just regulation food orders. Then again that was just typical of life on Tsuburonda, the most exciting thing was hunting mutant animals you couldn't eat. After a few months of that, even that had gotten old.

"You hear what one of those Mantises did to a watchtower guard who was nodding off?" Kuro asked. "Ate his whole head, helmet and everything. Messed up man."

"Yeah, weird that they got that close," Arch noted. "I mean, I know we've had attacks before, but I really thought we had spooked them off for good a week ago."

"They're persistent, that's for sure," Kuro suggested. "Dumb bugs don't know when to quit."

Arch kept scanning the ground, looking for trace signs of the Mantises' footprints. They were very tell tale, but in this thick foliage and darkness, it was hard to pinpoint them. All he could see was fallen leaves, sticks and overgrown roots.

"I tell you, bud, sometimes this planet is more trouble than its worth," Arch grumbled.

"Hey, this is practically the easiest duty in the Outer Rim, Arch," Kuro argued. "Don't complain about it. You want difficult? Try Tattooine for a year, worst assignment ever. Dealing with Hutt Crime Cartels, uppity farmers, it's was hot, days never seemed to end, and then there were Krayt Dragons."

Arch looked back surprised by the declaration.

"Don't those live in caves really far from people?" He asked.

"Oh yeah, when they're not hungry," Kuro countered. "But after awhile they really want a Dewback steak and if they just so happen to see one with a Trooper riding on its back passing by..."

Arch shuddered at the very concept. Krayt Dragons were some of the most terrifying creatures he had heard about. The idea of one of those overgrown vicious lizards coming up out of nowhere and ripping you open was frightening.

"That happen to you?" Arch asked Kuro.

"My first CO actually," Kuro elaborated. "Dewback didn't make it, but he lived... barely. Stuck in a bacta tube for two months, just managed to save his arm. Nerves were shot after that though, not the same man after nearly being eaten alive."

"I can imagine," Arch agreed.

"Wildlife was the least of our problems though," he continued. "Be happy there are no sentients on this rock. The Sand People raids were the worst. Every couple of days they'd hit our patrols on the way to Anchorhead. Vicious things, hate anything that don't even smell like'em. They glorify violence I think, bunch of freaks. Only good thing was killing them got us the respect of the locals. Point is, we're lucky we ended up on a world where the worst we gotta deal with is mutant animals. Especially now, you hear about some of the stuff that's going on out there in the other systems?"

Arch had heard, a lot of people not appreciating the security they had all of a sudden. Was a real shame to hear. He hoped things quieted down soon, that cooler heads prevailed. There was no sense in all this anger, these riots he kept hearing about. Just seemed like an excuse to break stuff, pointless.

"I guess it's nice to know we're not stuck doing crowd control," Arch admitted. "Killing Mantises is a lot less complicated than angry civies."

"Yeah, I hear ya," Kuro agreed. "I didn't join to shoot at pissed off farmers. Another reason I didn't like Tattooine, had to get rough with some of the local vapor farmers. Not fun work, not at all. Felt like the bad guy. You don't get much enjoyment pushing around people just trying to scrape out a living."

As Kuro said that, Arch found something in the dirt. He closed his light on it and pointed it out to Kuro. It was Mantis tracks alright, heading off into the forest. As he scanned the area he saw more, at least over a dozen or so. All of them scurrying in from everywhere.

"Weird to see this many in a swarm together," Arch noted. "Where they headed?"

"No idea, but we may need backup to kill them all," Kuro observed. "Better safe than bug food."

"Yeah, good idea," Arch agreed.

But as he went to contact the other patrols, he they heard a screech. Instantly, they both pointed their weapons towards the sound and heard something scurrying through the foliage. It didn't sound like a swarm, but it sounded like one very hostile bug.

"Set to full automatic," Kuro told Arch. "Cut through the trees as soon as you see its eyes. They glow in the dark, remember?"

Sure enough, the four glowing yellow eyes soon emerged from the darkness. The screeching continued as the Draxen Mantis scurried out of the black, its four slashing pincer arms lashing about like mad. Kuro and Arch opened fire immediately as it rushed at them, shooting it in the head and perforating its body. The corpse of the bug dropped to their feet, one of its legs twitching about as it started to die. Arch prodded it one with his rifle. As he replayed the scene of seconds before back in his mind, something felt off.

"Did that attack look odd to you?" He asked Kuro, wondering if he was just imagining it.

"Now that you mention it, Mantises usually prefer to ambush prey when they're alone," Kuro admitted. "Only swarms go for the throat like that one cause they know their friends will close in from the other side."

Yet they only heard one, which meant this wasn't an attack. In fact, it almost looked like the bug was running scared. Before Arch could contemplate this further though, he smelt something in the air. Burning wood, plant life on fire. He could see Kuro smelt the same burning. Without even thinking it through too much they both went after the smell. If there was a fire it could endanger the outpost, they needed to get a better visual on it and report it so they could put it out.

They eventually made their way through the thick brush. It was hard to navigate through the darkness, but what little smoke they could see helped guide them. Eventually they found what they were looking for, a charred, blackened space within the trees There had been some kind of fire here, but it was slowly going out. The foliage was burned beyond recognition, but that wasn't what caught their attention. It was the Mantis corpses all around them. They had all been scorched to death, burned alive.

"Holy... what the hell happened?" Kuro asked. "Lighting strike?"

"No," Arch said looking up towards the trees, spotting a large gash in the canopy where a path had been seemingly burned clean through. "Lighting doesn't hit from the side like this. And it's never that wide a berth. This almost looks like a flamethrower hit them."

"Impossible, who would have a flamethrower that big?" Kuro asked. "Besides, my helmet's scanner is picking up a huge spike in radiation. No one has radioactive flamethrowers, that's crazy."

"So what did this to them?" Arch asked, his concern growing.

"Hell if I know," Kuro shouted back "Maybe its those science guys testing that crazy weapon they've been building for seven years!"

Suddenly, Arch heard something and brought his hand up to silence Kuro's shouting. He heard something thumping towards them. It sounded like an AT-AT but bigger, way bigger. It kept getting closer and louder. The trees started to shake and sway with ever step, their branches snapping like toothpicks. A low grumbling roar sounded over the horizon. The two Stormtroopers looked to where the slowly approaching pounding was coming from, backing away as they did.

The giant ancient trees began to topple and crash onto one another, their crashing drowned out only by the pounding footsteps. They heard the faint distant screeching of Mantises that were suddenly silenced by what sounded like a blast of some kind. It was followed by a blue resonating light that bloomed from within the darkness of blackened forest. Then something appeared through the trees, a large snout followed by a set of vicious yellow reptilian eyes. They peered down through the leaves, over three hundred feet above them to settle upon the two troopers and gaze upon them from on high.

"Kuro," Arch said nervously, stepping back slowly. "What..."

"Just run, Arch," his friend managed to squeak out. "Just. Run!"

A booming screaming roar broke the silence as the two Stormtroopers raced back through the trees. The pounding footsteps followed after them, as did that terrifying roar. They could hear the ancient moss-covered trunks snapping like twigs behind them, crashing down to the forest floor. Arch didn't even want to ask what it was that was attacking them, he just wanted to run. Get back to the speeder and get the hell out of here, warn the outpost, warn everyone!

As he was running, Kuro tripped on an outlying root. Arch turned back towards his friend who reached out with his hand, but before he could even say a word, the crack of a tree cut through the air. It collapsed to the ground, trapping Kuro beneath its branches and rocks on ground.

"Go! Just go!" He called out. "I can get out of this!"

Arch nodded and kept going, the monster was still getting to close. He wanted to go back, he wanted to get his fellow soldier out, but all he kept thinking about were those eyes staring right at him from a thousand feet in the air. He kept running making it back to his Speeder when he heard a terrible scream followed by a the stomp of the pursuing monster's foot.

"Kuro!" He called back, but he knew it was too late.

He could see the trees swaying against the creature's approach. He fired into them with his rifle, knowing it was futile, but angry all the same. This thing had just killed his friend, a friend he had left behind. Only when the roar came again did Arch regain his senses. He stopped firing and jumped on to his speeder. Pushing down on the throttle as hard as could, he raced away into the darkness as the pounding gigantic feet stomped after him.

* * *

The Watchtower lookout grabbed his gun and went to the edge of the wooden platform within his treetop hide away. He spotted the lone Speeder bike rushing into camp, screaming like a madman at the top of his lungs. "It's coming, it's coming! Battle Stations!" he yelled.

Before long the entire outpost was moving up towards the edge of the cleared forest line. He didn't know what was going on. Assuming he had missed whatever had gone over the radio before the alarm got triggered he switched on the frequency channel.

"_Unidentified creature, approaching camp at rapid speed,"_ someone chirped in his ear. _"All Troopers repel creature from perimeter. Hit it with heavy arms, sounds like a big one."_

With that the watchtower trooper grabbed his missile launcher and stood at the edge of the wooden platform. He aimed down the sight, looking at the Troopers taking up positions near the edge of the forest. Then he watched as a blue beam of flame shot out from the trees and incinerated the entire group of defenders. The watchtower trooper dropped back onto his back as the shockwave of the blast knocked him off his feet. He got back up and started peering through the smoke now rising into the air. He spotted something moving about in the dark and fired his rocket into it. There was explosion and then a low grumble.

As the Stormtrooper stood up, something passed through the smoke. A huge snout, two yellow piercing eyes, grey reptilian scales, a snarling maw and large pointed fins running down the back its head. It stared at the trooper, smoke billowing about its head and from its mouth. In utter shock, the hardened Imperial soldier dropped his rocket launcher at his feet. He couldn't even bring himself to speak as the monster bore a hateful look in his direction

The creature let out a terrifying, ear piercing roar at the Trooper in anger and then repaid him for his earlier transgression. A blast blue light shot out of the beast's mouth and engulfed him, the lookout platform and the entire treetop. He only felt a brief painful burning sensation as his life ended. Below him, the entire outpost burned, along with every Stormtrooper still within. The only sound that could be heard for miles was their agony and when it died all that remained was the ear splitting roar of the monster that had delivered them unto oblivion.

* * *

Godzilla now stood over the destruction, watching the fires consume his prey. He had destroyed them utterly, as he had others before. They were the first of this new world to know the king's wrath, but they would not be the last. He now knew he had an enemy, much like those who had sent him here to begin with. So alike, yet different. They shared so many qualities, arrogance and pride among them. Their weapons were more potent though. No matter, they would not be enough to quiet his rage. He would see them all burn nonetheless, every last one of them.


	3. We'll Begin with a Reign of Terror

Chapter 2: We'll Begin with a Reign of Terror

Training while still inside a confined space was a bit risky. You couldn't really practice with a lightsaber in the _Ghost._ There wasn't just the risk of puncturing the hull with it, there was the risk of Hera beating you within an inch of your life for damaging her baby. Kanan had never been sure which was the worst prospect. If there was one thing Hera was more passionate about than galactic freedom, it was her ship. So Kanan did his best not to potentially anger her or getting them all killed from suffocation. Thankfully, today would not require lightsaber training, he wanted Ezra to work more on his focus of The Force. A laser sword wasn't what made a Jedi after all, it was his connection to life and all that was around them. Nothing helped focus better than using The Force to feel out into the world with only your mind. It was still going to be awhile until they got to Tsuburonda, so they had some time to practice it. They had also gotten a volunteer to help.

An annoyed series of a beeps and blurbs sounded from across the room as Kanan and Ezra looked on from afar.

"Stop complaining and just do what I told you, Chop," Kanan ordered. "Not every exercise is about shooting or throwing things at Ezra. Sometimes you need to take a hit for the team."

The surly orange painted old rustbucket of a droid growled another series of blurps and bops at the two Force-Sensitives. He did not appreciate this exercise at all. Kanan, however, was going to listen to his hollow threats.

"I expect you to try to get me back for it," Kanan shot back. "For now, you're helping. So start circling... slowly."

Chopper let out an exasperated electronic sigh and did as told, circling about on his three roller legs about his corner of the room. Perhaps it was unfair to use the old astromech for this, but he had been asking for it lately with all the little pranks he had been pulling between missions. Like the rest of the crew, Chopper had been getting annoyed with the smuggling runs. Every couple of lucky shots the TIEs hit them with meant more repairs he'd have to do. He was getting exasperated with the constant maintenance and was taking it out on the others a bit more. Putting Zeb's feet into cold water while he slept, quietly entering a room while Ezra was trying to meditate and then blasting music, he even started hiding Sabine's paint supplies around the ship. He rarely picked on her.

Those were just a few of the pranks he was pulling, but they weren't the extent of Chopper's outbursts. He had gotten a lot more mouthy with everyone, even Hera. He felt he like he was doing all the work and no one was pulling their own weight anymore. Kanan could understand the droid's frustration with the sudden upturn in work, but that was no excuse to take it out on the others. As far as he was concerned, this was the consequence of being such a pain over the past few weeks.

"Alright, Ezra," Kanan said, beginning the exercise. "Close your eyes and focus on the first object."

Ezra did as his master asked and closed his eyes. He pointed his head towards the group of assembled kitchen utensils, dishes and empty cans. It only took a few seconds to pick up the bowl and begin hovering it high above Chopper's head.

"Good," Kanan complimented. "Now, just get it on top of Chopper. Remember, you need to feel his movements as well as the bowl."

"Right, anticipate where he's going before I move," Ezra complied.

Ezra kept his eyes closed as he slowly lowered the bowl, bottom side up onto Chopper's head. He kept it chasing the droid as the machine circled, finally placing it down over his antenna. Again, Chopper grumbled indignantly.

"Excellent, now the hard part," Kanan reminded him. "Just stack as many items as you can on top of each other."

"This kinda feels like I'm playing with baby blocks," Ezra noted. "No offense, it just feels silly."

"I get that, but it's about anticipating the movements within The Force and maintaining a connection," Kanan explained. "Not everything you need to lift or move will be stationary. Now please, focus."

"Okay, point taken," Ezra sighed, still keeping his eyes closed.

Ezra began to take one item after the other from the pile, slowly piling them on top of Chopper's head as he moved about. The droid started getting a bit worried as the miniature tower continued to climb, whirring and grumbling as he kept circling around. It was going good, but then Ezra started picking up speed with his technique. Before long the tower of junk became a bit too unbalanced. Too many objects of varying size in the wrong places to keep the tiny structure from falling apart. Suddenly it all toppled over, crashing onto Chopper's head. The droid let out a loud, angry series of blurps and beeps at the two Jedi.

"Sorry, Chop, I let it get away from me," Ezra apologized, trying to stifle a laugh as he replayed the image of can after can crashing onto the droid's motivator.

Chopper shook one of his tiny arms at Ezra and then stormed out of the room, beeping a few choice lewd words that made both Jedi wince.

"That was good," Kanan said, doing his best to compliment. "The problem was you didn't consider which items should go where. That made it unstable."

"I did at first with the bowl, but then I lost track after a bit," Ezra admitted. "Guess I wasn't focusing hard enough."

"It's okay, it's not easy to keep your mind centered on so many things at once, even if they're little," Kanan explained. "When I was still in training at the temple, I got headaches trying to keep track of every little detail. But it is a useful skill. A Jedi needs to be mindful of their surroundings and understand the connection between them and The Force. It may not seem like much now, but when you need to make some very quick moves in a dangerous situation it will."

Kanan was doing his best to sound like his own teachers. This far removed from his Padawan days it made sounding like a mature Jedi Master rather difficult. Not all of what he remembered from his training was always clear. It was in his mind though, it never really left. Being a Padawan didn't prevent you from being a teacher after all, it just meant that you had more to learn. Kanan himself had discovered that one could learn from teaching. Even the youngest Jedi could pass on a lesson to the oldest of masters, Ezra had taught him that a lot since they had found each other.

"You think Ahsoka ever got headaches early on?" Ezra asked suddenly.

"I wouldn't know. I told you before, I never met her," he replied with a shrug. "There were a lot of Padawans and younglings back then in the temple. She was just one of the more prominent ones, fighting alongside the most revered knights and masters of the Order."

He remembered when he used to think Padawans like Ahsoka were so lucky. When he himself had wished to be on the frontlines, fighting against the Separatist Alliance and their droid armies. He had been fearful of missing out on the grand adventure he had hoped for. That was of course before things took a turn for the worse. Before Order 66 came down, before the betrayal of those he thought were their allies in defending freedom and democracy.

"She fought beside Clones too though, right?" Ezra probed further. "I mean, Hera mentioned she used to command some of them."

"Yeah, all Jedi did," Kanan grimly noted, his thoughts lingering more on the Clones who had suddenly encroached into his mind. "They were the backbone of the whole war. Wouldn't have even gotten as far as it did without them."

The Clones, he had only sometimes thought of them. Mostly back when the pain was still fresh, when he was another man going by another name. Just some young boy who thought things were so simple, the Republic were their partners in protecting people and that the Clone Wars were about preserving freedom. The prospect of fighting robot hordes had quickly lost its luster when no one seemed to appreciate the effort. Fighting those you thought were your comrades was another.

He didn't know if he could blame the Clones or not. They were probably bred to follow Order 66 unquestioningly. That was an idea that had only arisen much later, when he had had time to actually think. It would've made sense that if Palpatine's plan all along was to betray the Jedi, he'd want to make sure the Clones would turn against them. A manufactured army of laboratory bred soldiers would've likely had some kind of implanted mental programming like that. Again, this had all only come to mind much later. As a kid, he just felt betrayed, angry and disillusioned. Those he had fought beside had turned on him, on his master, without even so much as blinking. They didn't even show regret, they just acted.

It was hard to let go of the anger at first, but eventually Kanan put the blame where it belonged, on the man who ordered the Jedi Purge and the system that had turned the Galaxy's protectors into traitors. Besides, it wasn't like there were many Clones left to be angry at. That accelerated aging process hadn't exactly left a lot of them in top fighting shape after a few years. It was less expensive at that point to just recruit people from the local populace. The Clones were just tools that could be replaced, just like the Jedi had been. They helped defeat the Droid Armies of the Separatists and were branded traitors for it. The Clones had served their Emperor and were quickly pushed into obscurity after they had fulfilled their purpose. The Empire used people like that, it was just how it worked.

"What were the Clones like," Ezra innocently asked. "Before.. you know."

Kanan didn't blame Ezra for asking, the Clone Wars were before his time and he had only known the Stormtroopers. The Clones were just history to him. Besides, with the current mission they were one, perhaps he could share a little insight.

"They were brave soldiers," he admitted. "Committed and loyal, just not to who we thought they were."

"Why did they turn on you all?" Ezra asked. "I mean, why so easily?"

"I wish I knew," Kanan said with sigh as he turned to his young apprentice. "All I know is that the war clouded The Force so much with all the death and suffering that we didn't see it coming. That's the only explanation I've ever been able to figure out for myself. That and in war in general, it's hard to know who your friends are."

"I guess that's something Ahsoka knows pretty well too," Ezra added with an inquisitive tone.

Maybe she did, but it wasn't exactly the same. Ahsoka missed out on the real betrayal directly. She didn't have to watch those troops she commanded turn on her. She just heard it secondhand. It would be easy to be angry at her for seemingly cheating the fate of the other Jedi, but honestly Kanan envied her somewhat. She didn't wallow in fear for most of her life or have to live with the nightmare of her dying master's final words echoing in her nightmares. It would've been worse for her, watching soldiers she fought with for years suddenly decide she was the enemy. He hadn't been working with the Clones he and his master were serving with for nearly that long.

Kanan still couldn't wrap his head around her though. Why did she leave? Why did she give up that life? Did she still believe in the Jedi war anymore? He didn't know. He hadn't really bothered to ask. Ahsoka had given him hope that there were still other Jedi out there, but also raised some flags. She was on their side, no doubt, but she didn't act like the Jedi he remembered. Any Jedi he remembered. He knew about her history, her pitched battles during the second invasion of Geonosis, how she had helped break the blockade over Ryloth, the fact she had faced down the infamous General Grievous on a number of occasions and survived. All of those accomplishments, the Ryloth one probably earning her some points with Hera, and yet she still left the Jedi.

Why? Because she got framed by another Padawan who had strayed from the teachings of the Order? Because no one trusted that she was innocent? He supposed he had never been in that situation before, but he just didn't understand why she chose what she did. It made her an anomaly and he didn't know how to respond to her. In many ways they were alike. They had both felt betrayed, their lives ruined, their worlds turned inside out and they had found new meaning in this rebellion. That didn't mean he felt comfortable around her. He didn't know how she felt about the Order now, or the Clone Wars or if she had felt anything when Order 66 happened. He supposed if he really wanted to know he should've just asked. That was easier for him to think about than it was do though.

"What matters is she knows she's on the right side this time," he said aloud to both Ezra and himself. "She knows we can make a real difference in this fight. That's what this whole mission is about, at least as far as Hera seems to think."

"You really think this whole raid is going to convince these other Cells to join up?" Ezra asked him curiously.

"Hera does, that's good enough for me," Kanan stated.

Ezra just snorted.

"Yeah, I figured you'd say something like that," he claimed rather slyly.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Kanan asked sternly, eyebrow raised.

"Nothing," Ezra cheekily brushed off.

Kanan just sighed. He knew what Ezra was suggesting, but he was not going to get into that now. They still had training.

"Let's try a focusing exercise," he said. "To help you get a feel for the world around you. Should help heighten your senses."

Ezra obliged and the two began the next exercise by getting into a meditation stance with each other. They sat on the floor and simply started to drift into a trance. Their minds were soon completely removed from physical sensation, their focus completely on that of The Force itself and the connection between master and apprentice.

"Okay, now remember how you found the temple on Lothal and me on that Star Destroyer?" Kanan asked. "We're going to try something similar. I want you to focus your thoughts on everything outside the room. See if you can see what the others are doing?"

"Isn't that an invasion of privacy?" Ezra asked.

"That barely exists on this ship anyway," Kanan was quick to counter. "Now focus."

Ezra did so, doing his best to focus. Kanan knew Ezra had a point, but it was just this one time and no one was going to be doing anything that would count as a breach of privacy with the upcoming mission. Kanan could already feel every person on the ship himself, so he'd be able to tell if Ezra was sensing correctly.

"I can see Zeb checking the cargo hold," Ezra eventually stated. "He's looking over those boxes we're hiding the weapons in."

"Good," Kanan acknowledged. "How about Chopper?"

Ezra's brow furrowed slightly.

"I think he's in my room... oh that little rustbucket! He's putting something in my cadet helmet."

"You can clean it out later, remain focused," Kanan insisted. "Find Sabine now."

Ezra's expression softened and the young teen's mind refocused on their Mandalorian team mate.

"She's in the nose turret beneath the cockpit, gazing at hyperspace and... I think taking down some sketches for inspiration," Ezra reasoned. "She feels totally at ease."

"That's good, your ability to sense the emotions and feelings of others is a useful tool," Kanan told him encouragingly. "As long as you're up there, check Hera."

Ezra just snuffed.

"Come on, we both know she's piloting," Ezra stated. "Too easy."

"Gauge how she feels," Kanan informed her. "What do you sense from her?"

Ezra shrugged and did as told, it took a moment but he did sense something.

"She feels reserved, focused and... maybe a bit concerned," he reasoned. "It's like she's carrying a weight on her. About the mission, but also us, what we've gotten into I mean."

"That's Hera alright," Kanan told him smiling. "Always thinking about our safety. Eventually, in time, this will practically be a passive ability. The best Jedi Knights can near instantly sense the thoughts and feels of those around them."

"You mean I'll be able to read minds?" Ezra said astonished.

Kanan laughed slightly.

"No, that would've made my life a lot easier," he corrected him jovially. "In more ways than one actually. But you can, if you hone and practice you abilities, be able to read those around you. And from that you can determine intentions and actions. If you're really good, you can even use The Force to reach out even further. Not just on the same ship or planet, but other worlds or systems."

"Really?" Ezra said, sounding a bit excited. "So if I tried hard enough I could see other worlds just sitting around and meditating?"

"Well yes, but it requires a lot of focus and it's not easy," Kanan warned. "It's really straining and even the best Jedi Masters had difficulty with it. Most of the time you just get inklings, feelings from The Force itself. Like those feelings you had when you felt I was still alive when the Inquisitor caught me. It's best if you-"

Suddenly he felt something from Ezra, a great surge of something powerful. There was a the briefest of flashes, fire and shadow, some kind of faint terrible screeching noise and then nothing. Violently kicked out of his meditation, Kanan found himself panting beside Ezra who was clutching his own head in pain.

"What did you do?" Kanan asked, concerned for his apprentice.

"I just tried to sense outside the ship a bit, like the end of the hyperspace jump," Ezra tried to explain. "But then I saw something."

"Yeah, I got a glimpse of it," Kanan admitted. "You probably were able to reach out that far because we were sharing the meditative state together. Did you hear that screech too?"

"Not really a screech, more like a roar, a weird one," Ezra elaborated. "Hard to describe. Saw some kind of weird eye too, vicious looking, angry."

Kanan gave some thought to the brief vision Ezra had gleamed.

"You probably felt the Zillo-Beast," he concluded. "If that's the case at least Ahsoka's source is accurate about this project."

Kanan got to his feet and helped Ezra up as well.

"Try not to do that again, okay," he warned. "You're not ready for that level of Force Sense. You need to take this slow. You don't want to strain yourself."

"I remember, it can be dangerous using The Force to reach out like that," Ezra relented. "I just wanted to see how far I could go."

Kanan could understand that, but he was still concerned about Ezra pushing himself too hard and too fast. Last time he did that he brought out something dark. Granted the circumstances were much different, but it made Kanan realize that you had to be cautious when training someone like Ezra. There was a reason Jedi took you in so young, to minimize the sense of loss from your former life as possible. Ezra had already lost a lot before they had found him and Kanan was now more aware of the danger that posed for him in his training.

"Well next time you try we'll do it together," Kanan promised, placing a supporting hand on his shoulder. "I'm here to help you learn after all."

As Ezra smiled back up at his master, Hera's voice sounded over the intercom.

"_Alright crew, exiting hyperspace in less than a minute," _she warned. _"Everyone get ready."_

"Guess it's almost monster hunting time," Ezra stated with a sly grin.

"Guess it is," Kanan concurred. "Let's get to the cockpit then. Tsuburonda here we come."

* * *

Imperial Command and Control was the center of all operations on Tsuburonda. From here, General Sakal and Commander Klusto could oversee all of their important military installations and resource gathering facilities. They kept the project secure and well supplied. A few dozen intelligence officers kept watch in their sensory trenches and monitoring stations. They constantly sifted through the reports coming in from every Imperial Soldier standing watch, making sure everything was running smoothly.

For the past seven years since the lab had been set up on this rock, General Sakal had been the chief security officer as far as matters groundside were concerned. He left space to the charge of the Star Destroyer Captains. He was where he belonged, in the dirt, so to speak. There hadn't been much opportunity to properly showcase his military prowess of course. Mutant animals weren't much of an opponent for his Stormtroopers, they were nuisances.

He had always hoped for something better, more important, but he also recognized the opportunity in being stuck here until the Zillo-Beast was ready too. The fact Lord Vader had arrived made that even more apparent. He and Klusto just had to wait. When the time came, they'd be rewarded for their patience.

"I think Lord Vader was duly impressed with our operations, wouldn't you say, Commander?" Sakal asked as they overlooked the room from their command post.

"That's a difficult assessment to make, sir," Klusto argued. "Lord Vader isn't exactly very outward in his emotional appearance."

"But he did compliment our defense placements and noted how disciplined our men were," Sakal noted. "If nothing else, he knows how truly secured this project and planet are. Usually when Vader shows up he takes full command and puts his 501st Legion in charge, here he's letting us all retain command and is holding his personal troopers at bay. That's very rare and suggests he has confidence in us."

Sakal's confidence was contrasted by Klusto's skeptical perspective. He was not as easily convinced that they had won Vader's approval. If anything, he was even more cautious then ever.

"That could just be because he doesn't think he needs to step in at this stage regarding security," he warned. "He could still be disappointed if we don't meet that four day deadline of his for the test run. Which we have already lost twelves hours on since he arrived last night."

"Don't worry," Sakal assured Klusto. "I made my choice for a testing area before I went to sleep last night. I've ordered several patrols to begin construction of a mock village that will serve as our 'City in Chaos' scenario. We should have it finished within the deadline, so long as Vader doesn't push it up again of course."

"Well then it's all in the hands of Doctor Boll and Nulon now," Klusto declared, sounding slightly saddened. "Poor Sionver, she just keeps getting more pressure put on her doesn't she?"

"If she and Nulon had been faster and more efficient in their respective jobs we'd be done by now," Sakal informed his protege, not sounding at all sympathetic. "Trust me on this, Klusto, they don't deserve pity for their shortcomings."

"I don't think that's fair," Klusto argued. "At least not to Boll. This isn't exactly her traditional field and she's done the best she could. I don't think it helps when you dismiss her outright, like last night when you tried to throw her under the hoverbus with Vader."

Sakal glowered slightly at the Commander.

"I was voicing my disagreement with her decision to keep those... things alive," He grumbled back. "You don't have to agree with it, Commander, but it is in our best interest to prove our worth to Lord Vader however we can. Our only concern at this point should be if Boll has that thing ready for the test. I don't want us to look like fools in front of Darth Vader himself. That and if it fails, well, you can look forward to another damn assignment guarding some other hair-brained scheme of another crazy scientist. Or worse, do you want to get stuck working security for one of Admiral Motti's installations? That blowhard will keep us as glorified watch dogs for the rest of our lives."

"I'd rather get stuck working on whatever Tarkin is doing," Klusto admitted. "He at least is more respectable."

"Well if we play our cards right we won't have to play security for any Moff or Admiral," Sakal continued jubilantly. "Our connection to this project could place us in direct command of the creatures when they're deployed."

Klusto just sighed.

"Sir, we've discussed this, that's a long shot," he cautioned. "They could just as easily give it to General Tagge or Kendal Ozzel."

Sakal laughed heartily at the suggestion.

"Ozzel? Please, Tagge maybe, he's a great General, but Ozzel?"

"Well he's highly ranked, respected and word is he's been seeking a greater position..."

"Klusto, I knew Ozzel when we both fought in the Clone Wars," Sakal tried to educate him. "The man is a fool. How his career has survived this long is beyond me. The point is, he is not suitable to be given such a weapon, let alone a battalion of them. Our chances were remote before, but Vader is here personally now. We can use that to our advantage. It's why I decided our best troops will be involved in the test when it comes. The Beast can't keep order on its own, we have to prove it is capable of fighting with our ground forces. If our men an prove how capable they are fighting beside it, our chances for being placed in charge of the Zillo-Beasts that are deployed increase especially if Vader is there to witness it all."

Sakal couldn't help but think of it, being in charge of these massive cybernetic beasts. Powerful deterrents against any dissent or traitorous opposition. Between his own Troopers and the towering monsters, he could put down any uprising and see the planet returned to order. It would make all these years of boring security work worth the trouble. However, even with their chances increased, they still had to play it right. That meant the creature had to work and that his men didn't get slaughtered if it malfunctioned.

"With that in mind, we need to make sure Boll doesn't screw this up for us or takes us down with her if she does," Sakal warned Klusto. "There's no place for that kind of sympathy in the Empire, Klusto. Leave your feelings aside, my friend. It's the only way you're going to get anywhere."

"Feelings," Klusto said in befuddled response. "I don't think I understand-"

"Please, I'm not blind," Sakal huffed at the Commander. "I don't care what you find attractive, just don't let it interfere with all our hard work. She's just another alien, she'll always be lower on the food chain. It's just how it is. You'll only get into trouble otherwise."

Perhaps Sakal was being a bit hard Klusto, but he didn't appreciate the slight undermining of his authority last night with Lord Vader. They needed to present a united front. The Commander trying to stay on the good side of some exotic looking woman was not helping in that regard. Truthfully, Sakal had no problem with aliens as long as they did their part for the Empire. However, with rare exceptions, they weren't going to be headed anywhere in terms of advancement. That was just how the system worked now. Sakal had a career to think of, he wished Klusto recognized fraternizing with aliens was not going to help in that regard. They had images to keep and they couldn't fall apart in their resolve now because Klusto had a thing for women with crests or whatever.

"I'm just saying you don't need to use her as a stepping stone to impress Vader by making her look bad," Klusto explained to him. "If anything, if we want to get that position, we should be helping to make sure she succeeds. In any case, we should be careful about what we do and say around Lord Vader. He's been known to be very... well, heavy-handed if the rumors are true."

"Oh now you sound like Nulon," Sakal said dismissively. "I admit the man is frightening and imposing, but he's an accomplished Commander. His men have often spoken highly of him. He appreciates good military leadership and despises incompetence. As long as we show him respect and perform at our best we'll be safe."

Admittedly that wouldn't be easy, Vader had high standards no doubt. Sakal was confident he could meet them though. He had always strived towards efficiency and perfection in his career. In the multiple campaigns he had waged during the Clone Wars he had never lost a fight because he knew how to command, how to lead. Those Droids and their programming were no match for his military strategy and skill. Vader would recognize that.

"Have you ever wondered who exactly he is, sir?" Klusto asked. "Where he came from? How he wields the power he's said to have?"

"I'm not sure, no one is," Sakal admitted. "From what I understand he certainly has the power of The Force. Perhaps he is a Force-Sensitive the Emperor trained to be his chief enforcer. Perhaps he's some Jedi Traitor who was brought back to our side through the use of his cybernetics. Who can say, all I know is that he's the Emperor's right hand. That's all that matters to us. Ours is not to question, it is to obey. If only more people these days understood that."

"I know, I heard about some of the riots that occurred on Ryloth," Klusto noted. "And there's supposedly unrest on even Naboo. The Emperor's homeworld, can you believe it?"

"It's hard to, but some people just can't appreciate what they have," Sakal declared. "Honestly, sometimes I wonder if their nostalgia for the Old Republic makes them forget the chaos of that system. Why people don't appreciate stability I cannot say. Let us hope that the Zillo-Beasts provide the deterrent we need to stop this nonsense."

Klusto seemed to be a bit put off by that comment, his voice becoming less sure and reserved.

"I'm hoping that just these things being there will quiet things down," he said cautiously. "I'd hate to have to actually use the Beasts on angry civies."

"Admirable sentiment, Commander, but unfortunately the dissidents and terrorists among those angry civilians won't be obliged to see reason," Sakal informed him. "We have to take a firm hand against this sort of unrest. In situations like these riots, there are no civilians. Only lawless men and women who are a danger to themselves and others. You needn't worry though my friend. If we're in charge of the creatures, we'll see that they're used right."

Before Klusto could add to that comment further, one of the intelligence officers from below them spoke up.

"Sirs, we're overdue on a check-in report from one of the forest outposts," he said. "Sector DC64, to be exact."

"Mantis country," Klusto noted rather annoyed. "They've been getting worked up lately. Probably that solar storm we had the other day messing with their little insect minds. Not to mention the havoc its already played with communications already. I bet either the bugs damaged their comm uplink or residual radiation from the storm is affecting it."

Sakal grimaced, the insect life on this world was among the most hostile in the galaxy. He was just grateful that they weren't that intelligent, they'd be making their lives pure hell if they were. Honestly, first thing he was going to have the Zillo-Beast do after testing was head into the forest and have to burn the Mantis hives down.

"It's more than likely the bugs, but we should reestablish contact as soon as possible," Sakal determined. "That sector is dangerously close to our main airfield. We don't want a blind spot there. Something much worse than Mantises could get through. We don't want a pack of Hexu Maulers charging into the hangars. That outpost is scheduled for another re-supply run, isn't it? Have it moved up. We can have the TIEs fly the supply ship in and report on the situation for us."

"I'll get on it, sir," Klusto assured him.

"Good, we can't get lax in efficency at this stage," Sakal declared. "We're going to need everyone in top form if we are to meet Vader's deadline."

* * *

The _Ghost_ came out of Hyperspace and approached Tsuburonda. The first thing anyone in the cockpit at the time noticed was the small fleet of Star Destroyers in orbit around the planet. Enough to give anyone pause certainly. Not them though, they had a ticket past the blockade sitting in their cargo hold.

"You think people would take notice with all the Imperial ships flying about," Sabine observed.

"The supply ships probably do, but I imagine they don't really ask questions," Hera responded. "Let's just hope the ID signature Fulcrum gave us holds up under scrutiny so they don't ask many in return. Are the supplies properly shielded from their scanners, Zeb?"

"Tested them myself," the Lasat assured as he settled down in the chair behind Hera. "They'll only detect a heap of fruits and veggies for their growing boys in white."

"Then let's get this started," Hera announced. "Transmitting codes, initiating contact."

Hera took a breath as she waited for the response, reminding herself mentally of the story she was going to sell. She was a freelance contracted supply ship. They were filling in for the regular ship and crew who got diverted. They had clean sterilized food for Tsuburonda's garrison.

"_Supply Vessel 0823-85, state your business," _the Star Destroy Captain demanded.

Hera exhaled, thinking 'stick to the story' repeatedly in her mind as she did.

"We're here on a supply run," Hera explained in her best, bored sounding cargo hauler voice. "We have your people's batch of clean food for them."

"_You're not an Imperial Vessel," _the Captain noted. _"This is a highly restricted system, how did you get here?"_

"Your scheduled crew got held up with a busted hyperdrive and broken seal," Hera remarked back. "They contracted us to fill their shipment. They said they'd let you know before we arrived."

"_Well they didn't and you're not authorized," _the Captain retorted. _"Civilian contractors have no business here."_

Hera put on a mock air of frustration.

"Don't blame me for your people's screw up," she shot back. "You want I can just jettison the food into space, see how long it lasts out there. The crates aren't exactly sealed. We already got paid to deliver the stuff to the system and here we are. You explain to your soldiers why they aren't going to eat tonight if you want."

The Captain's voice grumbled slightly.

"_Wait a moment, I'll check the computer and see about this," _he informed them. _"Something may have slipped through."_

Hera turned to Kanan as they waited for the Captain to return.

"Fulcrum did send those forged messages, did she?" He asked hopefully.

"Of course she did," Hera reassured him. "They'll find the message clearing us for passage and our ID code will confirm our identity. We're golden."

Sure enough the Captain came back on with a more pleasant demeanor, at least by Imperial standards.

"_Alright, you check out,"_ he relented. _"Approach central Star Destroyer and prepare for scan. Two TIE fighters will be dispatched to escort you to the planet's surface. Do not attempt to stray from their assigned path. If you do, you will be fired upon."_

"Copy that," Hera acknowledged.

They approached the Star Destroyer now, slowly but surely. Two TIE Fighters were already flying out to provide escort when the scan was finished.

"Any idea how we ditch these guys?" Ezra asked concerned as he followed the fighters with his eyes.

"We'll probably have to shoot them down before they can report in," Hera admitted. "Not ideal, they're bound to notice a missing patrol. We'll have to work fast after that."

"Best we look for other opportunities if possible then," Kanan suggested. "We could always lose them in the cloud coverage or try to fake a malfunction, ditch in the trees. Just be ready to exploit any opportunity we may run across."

Before long they were cleared to enter the atmosphere. The shielding on the cargo containers had worked and they hadn't detected any illegal contraband. The laser turrets were hardly a concern, ships were allowed to arms to defend themselves against attackers. So long as they kept them deactivated the Empire wouldn't be alarmed. Of course the TIEs would be monitoring to see if they powered up the guns, so the first option of shooting them both out of the sky before they could radio in was looking problematic already.

"At least we're past the Star Destroyers," Sabine said, trying her best to sound reassuring as they entered the atmosphere.

"And we're still stuck with two fighters who could have half the planet looking for us if we step out of line," Kanan noted. "We're going to need a plan and fast, before we reach this supply drop off."

"I got an idea," Hera reasoned. "Chopper, hack their frequency."

The old droid blurped and grunted as he carried out the command, entering Imperial frequency codes in order to jack the communication channels for the TIEs covertly. They'd be able to hear any conversation to two pilots had that they didn't want the _Ghost_ to hear. When it was done, Chopper let out a 'whoop whoop' at his success.

"You gotta showboat for everything, don't ya?" Zeb grumbled at him.

Chopper only responded with his usual dismissive blurps at Zeb.

"Quiet you two," Hera ordered as she hunched over the control panel. "Trying to hear."

She turned up the volume on the comm and heard the pilots chatting away.

"_I hate doing milk runs for the Troopers,"_ one growled. _"I did not graduate from the Flight Academy to be stuck in the middle of nowhere playing escort for a bunch of glorified grocery bag haulers."_

"_Would you prefer the soldiers die of radiation poisoning cause they eat too much contaminated fruit?"_ The other asked. _"Just shut up, suck it in and we'll be back on the Destroyer before you know it."_

Small talk, nothing fairly useful, at least not at first. The conversation suddenly took a different turn in the next second.

"_Say is this right?"_ The first pilot asked. "_DC64? Draxen Mantis country? Why'd they get moved up on the list?"_

"_Mission report says we need to verify their status while we're there,"_ the second pilot explained. _"Apparently they didn't check in this morning."_

"_So because a bunch of troopers get lazy we have to play alarm clock?" _The first pilot groaned. _"Honestly, it's like they're trying to make me hate this job."_

"_Orders is orders," _the other pilot scolded him. _"Look, we'll radio them as we approach, call it in, get the cargo ship offloaded and get out. We won't even have to land, so just relax."_

That had piqued everyone's interest a bit.

"Hmm, maybe we could use this as a distraction," Kanan suggested. "While they're checking in with the outpost, we can slip away. Better yet, jam their frequencies so that maybe they land for repairs and we take off without them."

"That could work," Hera concurred. "Let's just hope once we make our move we can outrun the fighters."

However, a minute after they learned about the unresponsive outpost they arrived at their destination. It looked less like an outpost though and more like a giant smoldering heap of burned trees and smoking craters. There was practically nothing left but the charred remains of buildings and a few bodies of what were once Stormtroopers.

"Uh, I think we may need to rethink the plan, fearless leaders," Sabine stated, disturbed by what she was seeing.

"I guess we know why they didn't check in," Ezra said in shock as he stared out the cockpit window. "What happened here?"

"I'll tell you," Zeb informed him grimly. "They got massacred, that's what."

Hera, shaking off the collective shock everyone was experiencing, flicked on the comm again to listen in on the pilots. They seemed just as bewildered by it all.

"_What in the hell? No way Mantises did all this!" _The first pilot declared. _"What hit them?"_

"_No idea, but whatever it was hit hard,"_ the second pilot reasoned coolly. _"I say we land, look for survivors, figure out what went down."_

"_Okay, but what about the cargo hauler?" _Asked the first pilot. _"We can't just let it go on to the next base without us and we can't waste time flying them back up. And what if there are wounded? We can't get them to the airbase for treatment in these things."_

"_Crap, alright radio them," _the second pilot relented. _"We'll take'em down with us. But tell them to stay in the ship until we secure the area."_

No one was sure what to think of this. It could be their chance to get away, at the same time though they were a bit curious as to what had happened to this outpost. There was also the mention of that airbase, something that piqued Hera's interest and she could tell Kanan felt the same. As everyone went over their options in their mind, they were contacted by one of the pilots to issue the new orders.

"_Change of plans, we're landing," _he stated. _"You stay aboard your ship. We may need you to transport potential survivors."_

"Copy that," Hera responded, turning off the radio and turning to others. "We're going to need to work fast when we get on the ground. If we end up getting carted off to their airbase, things are just going to get more complicated."

"Don't worry, I already got an idea," Kanan assured her, looking down into the gunner cockpit below. "Sabine, you and Ezra up for a little stealth?"

Sabine responded by grabbing her helmet and slipping it over head.

"Was waiting for you to ask," she responded.

* * *

The TIE pilots got out of their fighters ad began looking around the area. The _Ghost_ in the meantime was parked on the charred remains of the forest floor just a few feet away. When the pilots were out of sight, Ezra and Sabine quickly dropped out of the open airlock door on the side of the ship. They hit the ground running and slinked towards the smoldering remains of one of the outpost's makeshift buildings.

"Alright, I'll get in position and you stun the first guy so I can take out the second," she reminded him.

"Easy enough," Ezra assured her. "Not much cover though. Whatever wrecked this place didn't leave much."

"Just stay low to the ground," Sabine told him. "That shouldn't be too hard for you shorty."

Ezra would've said something, but decided to keep his mouth shut lest they give themselves away. The two split up, keeping as far back from the pilots as they patrolled the area, blasters at the ready. They were probably more concerned about scavengers, but that didn't mean they weren't on guard. They were still more focused on things ahead or to the side of them though, not the back. That gave Ezra a chance to use the rocks or destroyed Imperial equipment to hide himself. As he got closer, he could make out bits of their conversation.

"You getting radiation readings?" Ezra overheard one of the pilots as he knelt behind the remains of a speeder bike.

"Oh what a shock for the planet that's constantly bombarded with radioactivity by a really hyperactive sun," the other pilot growled back. "Are you just trying to sound stupid now?"

"I'm serious, there's a greater spike in it than usual around here," the wingman tried to explain. "As in more than what we're supposed to read. The slightly more dangerous kind. Like fallout or something."

The other pilot just snorted at the suggestion.

"I guess the mantises are arming themselves with nuclear-based weapons then?" He asked incredulously. "Fallout? Please, it's probably just a solar flare spike."

Ezra admitted he was a bit curious about what they were talking about, but wouldn't let it distract him. He quickly rolled across the ground to what was left of a charred stump. One of the pilots stopped briefly for a moment and looked back, seeing nothing he tried to sharpen his gaze. However, his friend called back to him before he could zero in on Ezra.

"Hey! I found something," he called out.

The curious pilot stopped his search and rushed back to join his comrade. Ezra peered out and saw the other pilot holding something in his hand, it looked like some kind of weird little brown bug with a strange ribbed shell.

"The heck is that?" The wingman asked.

"No idea," the lead pilot said. "Not like any bug I've ever seen. Looks more like some kind of crab. But we're miles from the ocean."

"Where'd you find it?" The wingman asked him.

The lead pilot pointed to something off to the side.

"Some large impression in the mud over there," he explained. "I think its a ditch or something."

Suddenly the wingman and lead pilot's heads jolted over in another direction.

"You hear that?" One of them asked.

Ezra hadn't heard anything, but as he did his best to focus his mind he did catch a faint sound of something. Like a moan or cry in the distance.

"That sounded human," the lead pilot stated. "Come on!"

The two rushed off into the remains of the camp. Ezra had to hurriedly scamper in order to keep up. He hoped Sabine was doing the same. He stopped at a burned tree trunk that had been snapped in half by something and looked beyond it to see the pilots looking over a Stormtrooper, this one in Scout Armour. The man appeared shaken, disturbed and terrified. The pilots kept trying to get him to speak, but he could only offer mumbled whispers in response.

"Hey, come on man," one of them said shaking his shoulder a bit. "Snap out of it already."

The Scout Trooper just kept mumbling in response.

"Damn, he's out of it," said the other pilot. "We should bring him back to the cargo hauler and look around for more survivors. Not to mention call in command so we can report what's going on here. We'll need help figuring out what happened here."

They wouldn't get the chance though. As the wingman moved to pick up the Scout Trooper, Ezra spotted Sabine peering out from behind a smashed in barracks building. With a nod of her head towards him, Ezra stepped out and fired his stun blaster at the wingman. The TIE pilot took a hit directly to the back and toppled over onto his side in pain. As the lead pilot looked down to his shocked partner, Sabine rushed in. The first thing the pilot saw when he looked up was the Mandalorian's first careening into his eyes followed by a swift kick to the head as he stumbled backwards. When he tried to strike back with a dazed right jab, Sabine tucked under him, grabbed his arm and flung him towards the remains of the barracks. He hit the wall, face first and collapsed to the ground.

"I think I broke his nose with that one," Sabine observed as stretched out and flicked her wrist around. "Ugh, I always forget how hard their skulls are. Lucky he took off his helmet."

Ezra soon joined Sabine by her side. They both looked down at the Scout Trooper, who seemed utterly oblivious to their presence.

"So what do we do with him?" Ezra asked Sabine.

"He doesn't look like he's in any shape to cause trouble," she concluded. "I'll keep an eye on him and the others. Go back to the ship to give them the all clear. Zeb can take them from there."

* * *

Zeb carted the unconscious pair of pilots over to a stump where he quickly tied them up. He then brought the babbling Scout Trooper to the center near where everyone else was gathered near the TIE fighters. Chopper had already boosted himself inside one of the starfighters with his jump jet and had connected to its data computer.

"Let us know when you find the airbase, Chop," Kanan told the droid, who responded with a grouchy series of beeps and boops.

Everyone's attention now turned to the curious case of the shell-shocked Scout Trooper and the bizarre looking crab thing the pilots had found in the middle of all this wreckage. Sabine kept eyeing the weird little insect thing, trying to place it in her mind.

"No clue, nothing from my Academy's zoology books I can remember," she relented at last. "Probably just another mutant animal. Does look like it came from the sea though, very similar to a crustacean. No idea how it ended up here."

"And you heard the pilot say he found it in some kind of ditch?" Kanan asked, trying to sort the matte rout for himself.

"Yeah, right over to the side of the camp," Ezra said pointing.

Kanan followed the directions and soon he and his young apprentice were staring at said ditch. However, it didn't look like one, the pilot probably hadn't been paying good attention. The shape in the mud looked less like a ditch and more like a very large impression. Like a foot maybe, but that couldn't be possible. Nothing was that big, nothing except...

"You think the Zillo-Beast made this?" Ezra asked, already deducing for himself the true nature of the impression.

"No," Kanan stated, shaking his head. "They wouldn't have tested it out on their own people. Not even the Empire would kill its own soldiers like this. They wouldn't order TIEs to check on their handiwork either. This is something else."

They walked back to the others, still looking over the shocked Scout Trooper. Hera looked up at they approached, a look of concern on her face.

"He's in a real bad way," she admitted. "Barely can get two words out of him at a time. He keeps asking for someone named Kuro. And then there's the other thing he keeps repeating."

Almost as if on cue, the Trooper started mumbling aloud.

"Fire... monster... Fire Monster, fire..."

Kanan suddenly understood why Hera looked so worried.

"Probably some kind of mutant animal," Kanan surmised. "A big one at that. Big enough to reduce this place to cinders."

"Wouldn't the Empire be ready for something like that?" Zeb asked. "They've been here for seven years. They should know all the local monsters by now."

"Or this is something new," Hera cautioned. "Something they didn't find until now."

"Could be a wrinkle in things," Kanan surmised. "Then again, if it only bothers the Empire or sticks to these woods we should be fine."

'Should' being the operative word. Even Kanan wasn't too sure they'd be that lucky. He still felt uneasy about the situation, everyone did. Maybe it was the fact an animal, no matter how mutated or big, didn't tend to outright attack and defeat a heavily fortified military outpost. Maybe it was that giant footprint in the mud that suggested something comparable to a Zillo-Beast running around. Or maybe it was still that brief vision Ezra and him had gotten back on the _Ghost._ Whatever the reason, Kanan knew he didn't like it one bit. Something was very wrong on this planet and it wasn't the Imperials.

Zeb looked down at the shell-shocked Stormtrooper, still babbling off about his fire monster. The Lasat just grumbled as he stepped away from the terrified soldier.

"What do we do with him?" He asked the group. "Leave him with the pilots?"

"I don't think he's even aware we're here," Hera told him. "He can't exactly blow our cover in his condition like the pilots can. We'll have to leave those two tied up here and move on. By the time they get back to base to warn anyone, Fulcrum's forces should be on the ground. That still leaves Scout though."

"Maybe we can use him," Kanan suggested. "We just need to wait for Chopper to get the airbase's location and radio frequency. Then we can figure out our next move."

At that precise moment, Chopper let out a series of self-congratulatory whoops from within the TIE Fighter. Zeb quickly climbed up to the top of craft, using the gripping toes on his feet to clamber up to the cockpit door.

"So we got what we need I assume?" He asked.

The droid just let out a string of happy sounding little chirps and whirring noises. Zeb let out a grin.

"Good to hear, means we won't have to wait long to bash some Bucketheads in," he stated happily. "Hopefully we beat whatever this Fire Monster is to the punch this time."

Kanan didn't voice it himself, but part of him really hoped that they did avoid that. In fact, he was hoping they could avoid whatever this creature was altogether. Something told him though that his hopes were nothing more than wishful thinking and that this mission had just gotten more complicated than they were prepared for.

* * *

There wasn't really an official name for Tsuburonda's main airbase, the officers all referred to it as Airfield 01. But every Stormtrooper and pilot stationed here just called it Solar Flare Field, because no one was just going to call it a name and a number. That would've made life on this irradiated rock even more boring than it was already.

Most Stormtroopers who got stationed either felt two things. Either relief that this job had no grubby colonists to deal with or annoyance at how they had just gotten stuck on a mudball where the only action you'd see is a mutant critter hunting trip. That wasn't really as fun as it should've been, not when you had a ready supply of AT-ST walkers and blaster rifles on hand. There were casualties now and again, but they were usually few and far between. The only thing you really could look forward to was a constant light show in the sky and supply drops from off world.

Again, not the most interesting assignment you could get. After all, you had all the firepower in the galaxy and nothing to really use it on. When you joined the Imperial Academy to become a Stormtrooper they promised you excitement and adventure. They did not say you'd be playing glorified security guards for a bunch of resource gathering facilities, power plants and a massive science lab complex that only General Sakal's division had access to.

Solar Flare Field was a vital component to Imperial Operations on the planet though, so at least you could feel like you were important. Not only did it house most of the on planet TIE fighter squadrons, it was also positioned near the main communications tower. Said tower was only a few feet away, if anything went wrong the Airbase's security forces could quickly respond. Not that anything ever did of course. That was a good thing though, if something went wrong with the tower they'd have a difficult time communicating with everyone. The planet's frequent bombardment by solar radiation made transmissions, long and short range, difficult. They needed the tower to keep things running smoothly between all the outposts, facilities and the main complex where the science geeks were. Overall, Solar Flare Field was an important installation.

To one old soldier though, it just felt like the end of the line. Kamo had been one of the first to get stationed on Tsuburonda. It wasn't because he was a skilled soldier though, it was because he didn't have anywhere else to go. He didn't have much of place in the army anymore, hadn't for awhile. He just sat in his usual place in the communications uplink station for the airbase, minding the commlink terminal as he always did. It was all anyone thought he was good for anymore. At least he had the colors dancing in the sky to keep him company. Well, that and other comm operators.

"Anything going on out there fellas?" He asked hopefully over the line.

"_All quiet here, Kamo,"_ the comm replied back. _"Sorry."_

"No, it's okay," he reassured him sadly. "Just, you know, trying to keep entertained."

"_I hear ya, old man, I hear ya," _the operator replied back. _"If you want you can tell me one of your old war stories. I know some guys here, they can listen in too. They were asking me about the Separatist's attack on Kamino's cloning facility. You tell the story better than me."_

"No, it's okay, I'm not in the story telling mood," he sadly relented. "Maybe another time."

"_Alright, you take care of yourself,"_ the operator replied back.

He didn't like blowing off his fellow operators like that, but story telling just made him get nostalgic. Nostalgia always made him feel old. Kamo didn't like feeling old, which was weird when you considered that by galactic standards he was still only in his early thirties. That was his age though, not his body. The consequences of accelerated growth.

Kamo was a Clone Trooper, one of the last to be accurate. He was a piece of a greater whole, that of the late infamous Bounty Hunter, Jango Fett. In his prime he had been the tip of the spear, a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. The first of its kind, an army manufactured in a lab meant to safeguard and protect the Republic. He had taken part in many of the battles that made up the Clone Wars, beating back the Tinnies and Seps across the stars.

That was then though, that was the Republic. This was the Empire now and they didn't need him anymore. Not unless it had something to do with the commlink terminal, which was all they felt he was good for now. He wasn't going to complain though, considering that the other Clones still alive were stuck doing mining work. At least this wasn't a job that was slowly killing him. He didn't have to worry about getting shot at either and everyone was more or less nice to him. Everyone here respected his veteran status and he appreciated that. They were probably the only people left in the Galaxy who even cared about an old Clone Trooper.

He didn't really appreciate the other thing though, them asking questions about the war. Sometimes he felt like answering them and telling stories, but not always and not with everything. Some of the stories he just wanted to forget, one in particular he wished he could forget.

As he sat pondering, the door to the communications room opened and in stepped his Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Mugal. He walked over to the old Clone with the usual tired look on his stubble ridden face.

"Quiet day as usual I suspect?" He asked.

"Dreadfully, sir," he admitted.

"Yeah, what I wouldn't give to be anywhere else right now," Mugal adamantly stated. "I'd rather be on Ryloth, where there's some real action. Honestly, waste of good pilots guarding this dump. If we were over there the tail-heads wouldn't be so uppity."

Kamo just shifted in his seat uncomfortably. Mugal then caught himself.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Kamo," he apologized. "I know I promised not to bring up any places you were at on duty."

"It's fine, sir," Kamo morosely. "If I held you to that you wouldn't be able to mention a ton of planets. I'm old, I'll deal with it."

Mugal apologized in another way regardless, giving the old soldier a cup of Caf.

"Just the way you love it, old timer," he said slapping him on the shoulder. "Extra dark."

"Thank you, sir," he said graciously. "It's nice to know I was in your thoughts."

"Hey, don't mention it," Mugal assured him. "Least I could do for an old war hero."

Kamo just laughed a little as he finished his first sip.

"I wouldn't call me that," he said to the lieutenant grinning. "I didn't do all that much to be honest."

"Hey, you've done way more than me, that's something," Mugal informed him graciously. "I join up, I end up stuck in communications, listening to other people fighting. Hell, don't even get that pleasure anymore. I'm stuck here, making sure the TIE patrols are ordered, on time and efficient as per General 'Super Perfect' Sakal demands. Busy work, pointless. But you, Kamo you fought in real battles. At least you made a difference out there, I never got that chance. Probably never will."

Kamo turned around with a reassuring smile.

"Hey, if these riots I hear about keep up, maybe you will get a chance," he suggested.

"Please," Mugal said with a huff, shaking his head as he did. "These so-called uprisings never last long. They make a few complaints, they smash some private property, we capture and try some for treason, then we all move on. All this stuff is going to blow over within a week, you'll see."

Mugal took up a seat at his supervising desk close by, leaning back in the chair.

"That's why I think everyone here appreciates you more than anywhere else in the galaxy," he continued commandingly. "You got the most real combat experience of anyone here. The big name officers on the Star Destroyers and at that big science lab look down on you Clones as relics, but us field guys know the truth. None of us would be here without you, especially when we remember what you did. You put down the first Rebellion against the Empire, the very day it started. You were there, you made a difference."

Yeah, a difference, he made a difference alright. That was what he was reminded of when he thought back to that day. When they gathered on Coruscant, marched up the steps and entered the Jedi Temple. Operation: Knightfall they had called it, the end of an era. For thousands of years, the Jedi had been the Republic's sworn protectors. Then in less than a few hours they were nothing but a memory. A memory Kamo had tried so hard to bury deep inside, because he hated thinking about it. He had fought with Jedi, battled alongside them, they were heroes, he respected them, revered them. Then all of a sudden that changed.

Like the rest of the 501st, Kamo had followed orders unquestioningly. In fact, he didn't feel regret, sadness or even a sense of anger at the betrayal of the Jedi. He felt nothing. When the order came down, he just performed, like a switch had been turned on and he just followed. He felt nothing when it happened and felt nothing when it was over. That was what disturbed him. It was not that he had followed orders that made him kill the people the Clones had looked up to without even batting an eye, it was the fact he felt nothing. It was just a mission, one he felt compelled to do, because he needed to do it, he had to. That was all. He couldn't explain why it had been so easy.

He could still remember the looks on the Jedi he had to gun down, the look of shock and betrayal. They were good fighters, but they stood no match against the combined might of the 501st. They were caught off guard, unable to comprehend what was occurring. The whole operation was completely textbook. Yet the images that lingered on haunted Kamo, especially the young Jedi, the padawans, the younglings. Did they really all have to be slaughtered, he wondered. Surely a few of them didn't want anything to do with the Coup. The thing was though, he only asked those questions later, not during. And he still didn't know why.

"You know, I always wonder what made them do it," Mugal suddenly stated, as if reading Kamo's thoughts. "What did they hope to gain, the Jedi I mean? Taking over the Republic? I mean come on, they had all the power they wanted. Whole armies at their command. The Senate was irrelevant even back then, that's why it was so easy to force into submission. I mean, what were they afraid of? That they'd be irrelevant after the war or something?"

"I wouldn't know, sir," Kamo softly admitted. "Never really had the opportunity to ask."

"Well, maybe they just all went crazy," Mugal postulated. "I heard about some Jedi Master who cracked, some guy named Krell. Maybe the madness was catching or something. At least you Clones were there to stop'em. Must've been hard though, killing people who were technically your COs."

Kamo just sat silently for a minute, taking a long shaky sip of his caf before answering.

"Well, to be honest, it was... easy," he slowly admitted.

Mugal sat up in his chair a little at the comment.

"You mean, you weren't bothered?" He asked confused. "Not even a few doubts?"

Were there doubts? He honestly wondered if any of the Clones had felt as he did, nothing. Maybe they had some regrets about what was going to happen, what they were about to do. Perhaps he was the odd man out. He hadn't bothered to ask though. And if the others had thought different, it was impossible to know.

"If there were any doubts, no one said anything," he distantly admitted. "It was quiet that day. Quiet during the fight too. No one said anything. Not when the Order came down. Not when we marched in. Not when we started burning the place. Just... silence. Dead silence."

The near monotone way he said that sentence seemed to put Mugal off his game a bit. After gulping once, the Lieutenant quickly regained his composure.

"Well, that's pretty cold, but I suppose that's how you guys won that war," he stated, trying his best to sound commendatory. "You were more hardcore than any droid could hope to be."

Kamo hoped that the conversation would end with that. Thankfully the awkwardness was interrupted by a comm transmission.

"_This is TIE Flight JY67, lead craft," _the voice announced. _"We are requesting permission to land. We have a Trooper going through a major shock it seems. Got jumped by some Mantises, nearly eaten alive. CO requested I bring him in for medical treatment."_

Mugal just grunted.

"I hate those damn bugs," he grumbled. "If the General was smart he'd have had us exterminate their hives years ago. Give us something to do at least. Ah well, wave the guy in."

"Bring him in, JY67," Kamo told the pilot. "We'll get a shuttle to transfer him to a Star Destroyer."

"_Copy that,"_ the pilot replied.

Well it wasn't much, but Kamo was happy to hear something interesting over the line. Maybe today wouldn't turn out to be so boring after all? One could hope.

* * *

The plan was working so far, the TIE fighter had gotten inside the perimeter. Kanan, now dressed as a TIE Pilot, climbed out and got help with get the shell-shocked Scout Trooper out. They started taking the poor soldier towards the medical bay, while Kanan was directed towards the main building. Hera kept watch as long as she could with her macrobinoculars, nodding to herself all the way.

"Okay he's in," she told the others.

"How long is it gonna take him to shut the perimeter sensors off?" Zeb asked.

"Give him some time, it's not like he got security clearance," Hera cautioned. "Just be ready to move when he transmits. We gotta move fast if we're going to take out both the tower and the TIEs on the ground."

The crew kept huddled in the treeline. The _Ghost_ was hidden in the shadows a few hundred feet behind them. It was the closest they could get it without getting spotted. So a quick getaway if things turned sour was going to be hard. Just another thing that made this side venture risky, but the target of opportunity was too good to pass up. According to the intel on the TIE's computer, without this airfield the Empire Air Superiority would be heavily impaired, giving their own air support much needed breathing room. The bigger target though was the nearby communications tower. Taking it down would severely hamper the Empire's ability to respond or react fast enough to the Rebel assault. Those were two big things that would increase their chances in the coming attack. They couldn't just pass it up.

"How long do you think we have until the Empire figures something is up?" Ezra asked aloud.

"I give them ten minutes until they realize the perimeter got shut off," Sabine postulated. "Once they realize there was a breach they'll start scouring the base."

"So we need to move fast," Hera stated. "Set the charges for on the fuel lines for the TIEs and book it to the Tower. Chopper will fly the _Phantom _in and we set everything off simultaneously. While the place is burning we get out of here and hope it takes them all awhile to figure things out."

"Long enough to get to the orbital gun installation anyway," Zeb added. "It won't take them long to figure out we're here when this goes down."

No, Hera's agreed in her mind, it wouldn't, but it would take them awhile to report it in without their tower. Right now though, everything hinged on Kanan getting into security. Otherwise, they were going nowhere.

* * *

Kanan was being honest with himself right now, this was probably a bad idea. Last time they tried something with communications tower, things got a bit problematic. At least this time around they'd just be destroying it and not using it to get their message out to folks. Explosions were a lot less complicated than hearts and minds. He had been concerned though, as he thought he recognized the voice of that comm operator who confirmed his landing request. However, no one seemed to be following or paying him much attention. So maybe it was just in his head.

As he walked through the halls of the facility he kept a lookout for the security terminal. Not easy to do while his head was stuck in this stupid helmet. How did the TIE pilots see anything in these things? At least the outfit wasn't the least comfortable thing he had been stuck in. Eventually he came across the station within the main hub, unfortunately it was behind a secure door.

Well, only one way around that, but it was a bit risky. He looked about the hall and saw that no one was around for the moment. Kanan quickly focused his mind on the locking mechanism. It took a bit of coaxing, but he did manage to influence it enough to get it to move. The door slid open and Kanan slipped inside before anyone noticed.

There was only a skeleton crew inside, none of them paying much attention to anything besides their screens. That gave Kanan the chance he needed. While the Imperials were busy watching their viewscreens for trouble, Kanan moved over to a computer port. Placing a wireless connection device inside the port, he tapped the communicator's button.

"Chopper, you're in," he whispered. "Make it fast would ya?"

The surly droid beeped back in annoyance at him, before following through with the order. Kanan checked the terminal's technical read out and within a few seconds Chopper had shut off the perimeter sensors. Kanan walked back to the door contacting Hera as he did.

"Spectre 2, you're good to go," he informed her. "See you at the tower."

But as he reached the door, it suddenly opened and Kanan found himself looking at an Imperial military officer. The man didn't seem at all pleased to find an Imperial Pilot looking at him, especially in a room he shouldn't be in. Kanan did his best to remain calm.

"What are you doing in here?" The officer demanded. "Where's your authorization pass?"

"I don't need one," Kanan told him as he waved his hand. "I was here on your orders."

"You're here on my orders," the officer responded, near monotone.

"I was re-checking flight records for my squad," Kanan continued. "Everything is clear, I can move along."

"Everything is clear then," the officer repeated back, stepping aside. "Move along."

Kanan walked by the complacent officer and quickly moved down the hall. One close call averted, thankfully very few Imperial Officers were of strong minds. He got lucky though and there was no guarantee he'd get lucky again. He needed to get to the tower as quickly as possible, before his cover got blown the next time.

* * *

Ezra dropped over the wall with Hera close behind him. They kept to the shadows as they moved towards the side of the hangar where Sabine and Zeb were hiding. Hera looked beyond the corner towards the far right of the airbase and spotted a refueling station.

"Alright, that's where most of the fuel is," she said. "We blow that up, along with setting some charges on the TIEs themselves, we should be good."

"Look for the bombers," Sabine suggested as she grabbed the explosives out of her pack and handed them to the others. "They should either be already loaded up or have their munitions stored nearby for easy access. Should make a nice fireball."

"Whatever happens we all meet up at the southeastern gate of the base and hightail it to the tower," Hera reminded them. "Do not get spotted or else we're going to have every Trooper down here gunning for us."

From there the team split into twos, Hera and Ezra going into one hangar while Sabine and Zeb moved onto the next. Getting across to the other side of the base would be a challenge, but so long as they stayed out of the searchlights they should be fine. Besides, they'd cross that bridge when they came to it.

As they entered the first hangar, Ezra and Hera instantly spotted two TIE fighters sitting nearby. Crouching behind some crates, Hera motioned her head towards the first fighter.

"You get that one, I'll set charges on the next," she told him. "I'll cover you while you move."

Ezra and Hera moved away from the crates and towards the TIEs. The guards out front didn't seem to be paying much attention, so they were able to sneak up to the fighters without much difficulty. There were a lot of TIEs in these hangars though and it would take time to set enough explosives in each one to properly destroy them all. They would need to be strategic, setting at least two bombs on fighters and then putting a charge on the munitions storage. Hopefully that would be enough to get most of them in the ensuing blast.

However, as Ezra placed his bomb under the fighter's wing coupling, they heard something. A loud, shrill shrieking roar that echoed across the horizon. It caught both his and Hera's attention as did the tremendous footfalls that shook the ground beneath them.

"What was that?" Ezra whispered over to Hera.

The twi'lek just looked back with concern.

"Nothing good," she answered him.

* * *

In the Airbase's sick bay, Private Arch had been laying comatose for a few minutes now. Then, the shrieking roar echoed over the base. The Private's eyes opened in fear and he shot up in his bed. Medical personnel and droids moved over to him as he started screaming aloud. He looked confused, not really knowing where he was right now. Only that he wasn't at the outpost. Someone must've found him, but that wasn't important right now. He could feel the terrible footsteps shaking the room. It had followed him, that fire belching demon had followed him! A medic came over to try and calm him.

"Don't worry, Private," he tried to comfort him. "You're safe, we're just having a bit of an earthquake."

Arch grabbed the man by his shoulders.

"Earthquake!? Are you stupid or something? Didn't you just hear that scream!?" He shouted in a panic.

He pushed the man away, grabbing his helmet off the nearby table. He frantically looked back to the rest of the people in there with him as the footsteps grew louder.

"We need to get out of here! Now!" He yelled at them.

"You're in no condition to-"

"Don't you understand!? We need to get the hell out of here!" Arch tried to plead them. "We all need to evacuate before it's too late! It's coming! Don't you understand, you idiot!? IT'S COMING!"

The room violently shook once more and Arch used the opportunity. He snapped on his helmet and forced himself past the medics. He needed to warn someone, anyone! Trip a fire alarm, grab a gun and start shooting it into the air, something! If he didn't they were all as good as dead.

* * *

Ezra and Hera ran out of the hangar, as Troopers rushed away from them and onto the airfield. They kept themselves hidden behind some crates stored outside. Ezra spotted Sabine and Zeb close by, poking their heads past a TIE bomber that was just outside its hangar. Their gaze, along with everyone else in the base, was drawn to the tree tops further to the north of them. They could hear the old oaks cracking and toppling over, smashing onto the forest floor. Suddenly, bursting from the treeline appeared something gigantic. It took a minute for them to properly see against the blazing color filled sky, but they soon made it out and were instantly filled with a twinge of horror.

A huge grey reptilian creature cast its enormous shadow over the base. Spiky fins ran down its back towards its huge swishing tail, that whipped around, cracking branches as it moved. Its claws started clenching as it sneered down on the Imperials below. Its yellow eyes glared at them all with almost purposeful grimace and rage before it opened its giant maw and let out the same terrible roar from before.

It's throat then started to resonate bright blue, its spikes lit up and at the apex of the glow it released a blast of fire on the airbase's eastern side across from where the infiltrating Rebels were hiding. The blue beam cut a swath of destruction through three hangars and the refueling station. Fuel lines connected to it started to erupt in huge explosions. Stormtroopers ran for cover as hangars and the TIEs inside them went up.

"Karabast!" Zeb shouted as he backed away from the destruction in awe.

Instantly the entire base went on alert, a shrill klaxon alarm sounded and a screaming announcer started shouting over the speaker system.

"_All pilots! All pilots! Get to your craft now! We are under attack! Repeat, under attack!"_

"No kidding," Ezra chided, a frightful tone in his voice.

"Well this is a wrinkle I didn't plan on," Hera growled. "Come on, we need to get out of sight!"

Already TIE pilots were rushing to what aircraft were left while Stormtroopers ran for the armory and motor pool to get better weapons. Hera grabbed Ezra and made a run for Sabine and Zeb who quickly ducked behind several crates inside the hangar they were close to. They needed to wait for the pilots and Troopers to clear out before they made a run for it. Even in this chaos, chances were someone was bound to spot them making a break for it across the open field.

Within seconds, TIE fighters were lifting off. The Rebels stayed down, waiting for the hangars to empty. The screeching engines of the TIEs screamed to life as the starfighters lifted off into the sky and turned to attack the giant lizard now besieging the base.

"Well, so much for lighting up the base," Sabine stated with a nervous chuckle, her pair of blasters out and at the ready. "Guess we shouldn't have even bothered since that thing is gonna do all our work for us."

"Well we did and now we're stuck in a warzone," Hera informed her. "We still need to get to that tower but with the entire base on alert staying out in the open is going to get us killed easy."

"We can sneak through the buildings," Ezra suggested. "They'll be practically empty with every Trooper running to grab a gun to fight that thing. We'll only have a few Imps to worry about."

"Worth a shot," Hera agreed. "Follow my lead. We'll head through the barracks, it will lead us to flight control. We can get to the gate from there."

The hangar was already empty, so the Rebels ran back out onto the field once more. Briefly, Hera looked towards the behemoth who was attacking the Imperials. She had no idea what it was, save that it looked like a three hundred and fifty foot tall Krayt Dragon. That was the closest approximation should could come up with in the moment at least. She watched as the TIEs peppered the monster with shots, although they seemed to do little against him. The creature raised its massive arm and swatted at some of the buzzing crafts. There were a few small explosions that erupted along the length of the creature's arm, signs that the hit had connected with at least a few unfortunate pilots.

"They don't even seem to be making a dent on it," Zeb observed, sounding uncharacteristically worried.

"Let's just hope they keep it back long enough for us to get out of here," Hera stated, sharing his concern.

They reached barracks building and ran inside. The airfield wasn't much of a concern anymore, only the tower mattered now. Yet somehow, the mission seemed even more daunting than before.

* * *

The TIE fighters flew circles around the massive lizard, but Godzilla was undaunted by their aggression. They were but gnats pricking against his skin. Their feeble assault was no different than the human planes he had so often faced against. The only difference being that these craft had more powerful main weapons. His roars shook the skies as the screaming little fighters charged and danced about his head.

"Lasers ain't working people," one of the flight leads claimed. "Harass it instead! Get the bombers close enough to drop their ordinance. Go for the eyes! See if that hurts him!"

Godzilla stomped forward, swiping at the air as the TIEs sped around him, their screeching engines only deepening his rage. From above a flight of the screaming attackers descended, firing up along the giant reptile's back.

"Come on, boys," the lead cried. "Let's show this dumb lizard what happens when you try to face off against the Empire!"

There was a tremendous war cry across the Imperials' radio frequency, as the TIEs all centered their crosshairs on Godzilla's head. Enraged by their arrogance, Godzilla roared up at them, shutting his eyes as lasers rained down. They would all die for their insolence. As the TIE pilots continued their boisterous hollering, Godzilla's tail reared up and cut along their flight path through the air like a massive whip.

"Pull up! Pull-!"

The lead and his immediate wingman were crushed against the swinging tail, destroyed upon contact. The pieces of their broken ships rained down on the airfield they had been trying to protect. The other pilots looked on aghast.

"That thing just took out a whole squadron!"

"We'll make him pay, boys! Our bombers are overhead! They're gonna give him one nasty headache."

Godzilla could not hear their strategy, but he soon felt it. Bombs exploded across his back and along his brow. Screaming in pain, Godzilla shook his head about. He then looked to the sky and saw the flight of bombers passing overhead.

"Going around for another drop!" Said one of the bomber squadron leaders. "We got him hurting!"

Godzilla raised his head to the sky and sucked back air. His spines soon glowed bright blue, his mouth filled with atomic fire. One of the TIE pilots saw what was happening and tried to warn his comrades.

"Bomber lead! It's charging that ray weapon again! Get the hell out of-"

It was too late, Godzilla's atomic beam fired into the sky and sliced through the bomber squadron. Their pained screams screeched through the commlinks of their fellow pilots as they incinerated in a blaze of pure radiation. Godzilla then aimed the still streaming atomic beam downwards, cutting through the fighters on his way down.

"By the Emperor! Look out!"

"Too fast! Coming in- ARGH!"

The TIEs exploded as the atomic ray shot through the sky. Godzilla eventually relinquished, but so many of the fighters were still left and still determined to keep fighting.

"How do we kill this thing? We never covered this in basic!"

"Those spines of his light up when he's firing! Shoot at them! Maybe they're the source of his weapon's power!"

It was a desperate, panicked strategy and one that would prove futile. All it did was anger Godzilla further. He had grown tired of these insects. They were worse than Megasurius' brood. They were just machines though and Godzilla had long ago learned how easily machines could be broken. Atomic breath would take too long, he needed a more efficient method. Once more, Godzilla's spines grew bright blue, but this time Godzilla kept his mouth shut. His power began to resonate within him, reaching critical mass.

"Look out," one pilot warned. "Keep away from the mouth!"

A pointless gesture, there was no escape from this attack, not for them. In bellowing roar, Godzilla unleashed the fury he had built up within him and released a devastating nuclear pulse. An ability that allowed him to unleash a wave of atomic energy in all directions for a short distance. The attack not only released something akin to an atomic blast, but also an EMP. The pulse destroyed those TIEs close by while others soon found all their instruments dead.

"I've gone dark! Engines are dead!"

"I lost power! I've lost-"

The fighters fell back to earth and crashed onto the airbase's tarmac. The explosions from the falling craft ripped through the unsuspecting Troopers nearby. The entirety of the TIEs stationed at Solar Flare Field were now gone. As Godzilla roared again, the Stormtroopers started pulling back and the giant lizard advanced once more.

"Fall back to Flight Control!" One of the squad leaders ordered. "Break out the Armored Transports! Go! Go!"

The Troopers started running, firing back at the giant as he stomped forwards. Godzilla now started crushing the remaining empty hangers, the ordinance and fuel inside exploding as he smashed through. He could see vehicles moving up into fight. Pathetic white-clad humans, they really were no different than the ones from home. They were already dead, all of them. They just didn't know it yet.

* * *

Kanan was confused as to what was going on. From inside the main building for the airbase he had no idea what was happening outside. He originally thought that someone on Hera's end had jumped the gun. That didn't make sense, then when he tried to stop one of the Troopers running out into the fight all he said was:

"Some kind of monster, come on man, get to your TIE already!"

Monster? It couldn't be. But the announcements from Flight Control soon confirmed it.

"_The Monster has destroyed our air support! I repeat, all TIEs are down! Everyone get to an armored transport and fire on that thing!"_

Now that was not expected at all. Kanan quickly contacted Hera when he got a moment.

"Spectre Two, what is going on out there?" He asked hectically.

"_A giant lizard with fire breath is burning the base to rubble, love,"_ she replied, trying her best to alleviate the situation a bit. _"I really hope you're almost at the tower, cause we're definitely not staying here."_

"Alright, I'll keep moving, you just try to stay alive," he told them.

* * *

Stay alive, right, not an easy thing to do right now. Most of the Troopers were outside, but a lot of them had retreated inside and were trying to make it to the armory to get better weapons. As they had made their way down one corridor, one of the Trooper squads had spotted them.

"What the- who the hell are you people?"

Hera just answered back by whipping out her blaster and firing between the lead Trooper's eyes. Everyone quickly ducked into cover as the Imps opened fire in return. The Rebels jumped into the cover of a nearby alcove as the blaster shots filled the halls.

"You'd think we'd be the least of their concerns," Sabine shouted over the blaster fire.

The pink-clad Mandalorian used her twin blasters to expertly gun down one of the Troopers with several blaster shots. She pulled back into cover as her position was pummeled with laser fire.

"Hey, we're the only thing they know they can actually kill," Zeb argued, continuing to fire back with his Bo-Rifle.

Ezra managed to score a hit with his stun blaster, knocking one of the Stormtroopers out. Another just took his place though.

"Ugh, this is crazy," he growled. "We can't fight them, we need to get to Kanan! He's gonna need us to assault that Tower!"

"Agreed," Hera concurred. "Sabine, clear them out!"

"I got just the thing," Sabine assured.

Pulling out a thermal detonator, Sabine tossed it down the corridor towards the Stormtroopers.

"Thermal! Back!" One shouted.

They pulled away, but the blast caught several of them before they could reach safety. Before the remaining Troopers could recover, the Rebels were upon them. Zeb bashed one Trooper's head in with a strike from his fist, before shoving the electrified tip of his deployed bo-staff into another off to his right. Sabine used her dual guns to fire in separate directions as she moved up, the Troopers trying to draw a bead on her as she rushed forward. Hera quickly fired her pistol from afar, backing the two up, while Ezra shot his stun blaster at the other Troopers at her side.

When the fighting was over the team gathered in the hallway together.

"That explosion is going to call a bit of attention down on this sector," Sabine warned. "Even with the big grey overgrown psycho Dewback outside."

"Then we best get scarce," Hera declared. "Move!"

They rushed down a side corridor, moving towards the southeastern end of the base. Hopefully they could avoid any remaining Troopers inside.

* * *

Kamo had done his best to rush outside through all the panic. He had no idea what was going on initially, but when he got outside he wished he was still clueless. In all his years fighting, he had never seen a creature like this. A giant grey titanic lizard just looming over everything. He couldn't even find words to describe it in his own head.

As he gazed up at the monster, he saw it fire some kind of blue energy ray out of its mouth. The beam rocketed past him and smashed into the Traffic Control Tower just behind him. As he stared gobsmacked at the falling debris, he was suddenly tackled to the ground and thrown away from the falling pieces of twisted metal and crumbling concrete. When the dust cleared, it was nothing but a burning, smoldering, broken heap of were no doubt still a lot of officers who had been in there when the blast hit.

Kamo looked to his savior, a Scout Trooper armed with a blaster who picked himself off the ground and offered a hand.

"Close one there," he said. "You alright?"

"I've lived through worse," Kamo admitted. "I'm Communications Officer Kamo, what's your name soldier?"

"Private Arch," he said frantically. "Listen, you look like you're in charge here. You got the uniform. I've been trying to convince people we need to evacuate but they ain't listening! Please, you gotta talk to them! We can't fight this thing!"

"How would you know?" Kamo asked curiously.

"Because this thing wiped out my outpost!" He desperately explained gripping Kamo by his shoulders. "You don't understand! We tried our best, not even our turbo laser cannon we just installed worked! You can't fight this thing! We don't have the firepower here! We need to run!"

Kamo still felt confused, he had fought this thing? When? He hadn't heard of this. There was nothing over the wire about it as far as he could recall. Something felt odd about this, but when he looked to the giant dragon-like monster destroying Solar Flare Field at the moment, he found himself not really caring all of a sudden.

"We need to find my CO," Kamo stated. "He's in charge of Communications for the Airbase. He can sound the retreat, assuming he's alive."

"Well where would he be?" Arch asked.

"He left Comms a minute before the alarm sounded," Kamo growled. "Could be anywhere. Look, if there are any officers left they've probably established a forward Command Post at the front of the fight. Follow me, I can probably locate it!"

Kamo took point, something he never thought he'd be doing ever again. As he ran through the panicked fighting, watching troop transports move up into the fray, he saw the monster continue advancing. He was still stomping his giant feet through what was left of the hangars, crushing them beneath his weight. He then used his beam ray to set the ones across from him on fire, causing the fuel and weapons inside to explode violently out the doors.

Every laser, blast and turret in the base was now trained on the monster, but nothing seemed to phase it. Arch was right, this thing wasn't going to go down. Thankfully, they eventually found the Forward Operating Post. What luck, there was Mugal, doing his best to take charge and coordinate the defenses.

"Someone get some rockets out here, or heavy turrets," he ordered through a comm uplink he had set up. "Anything! Contact Command and get reinforcements!"

"Lieutenant!" Kamo called out as they approached.

Mugal turned, a look of relief on his face.

"Oh thank the stars, Kamo," he stated. "I was worried something happened to you, Old Timer. I really need your advice here, we're in a major fix."

"I know," Kamo concurred. "We need to get the other Commanders on the horn. This Scout has-"

"I can't do that. Kamo," Mugal informed him, crestfallen when he spoke. "That thing... it took out all our Command and Control. They were all in the tower coordinating the defense! I'm... I'm all that's left."

Kamo clutched his CO's shoulders and looked him in the eye.

"Listen to me, sir," he began. "You need to focus. This Scout Trooper has intel you need to here."

Arch approached him solemnly.

"Lieutenant, sir, we need to retreat," he tried to explain. "I don't think anything short of an AT-AT is going to give this thing pause. If we stand our ground, we're dead. My outpost tried it, they didn't last five minutes."

Mugal just looked at him flabbergasted.

"You can't be serious," he answered in shock. "We can't retreat to this... thing! We're the Imperial Military! We don't retreat!"

Suddenly a terrible shockwave shook the earth. Everyone looked out onto the field and saw the monster firing his beam weapon again. The blast rocketed it out of the creature's mouth and tore through a whole platoon nearby. Their Armored Transports were utterly whipped out as the blue beam obliterated the attack force. All Mugal and everyone else could do was watch as fire consumed the targeted Stormtroopers, their vehicles and everything else around them. When it was over, the monster continued its attack.

"Sir, we just lost an entire group of transports!" Kamo shouted at him. "If we don't retreat, we'll be joining them!"

"Damn it all," Mugal grimaced, balling his hands into fists. "First Command and I retreat."

"No shame in falling back, sir," Kamo reassured him. "Not if it saves your men's lives."

"Yes, yes you're right, Old Timer," Mugal soon agreed. "Alright, I'll call the retreat. We'll get as many people out as we can."

Kamo just nodded and turned to Arch.

"You stay here, help him," he ordered. "I'll be back."

He then took off to the southeastern end of the base.

"Where you going?" Arch called out.

"I'm going to see if there's any transports left in the motor pool and I'm going to open the gate!" He shouted back to the Private. "Don't worry, I'll be back before you know it!"

* * *

Kanan burst out into the open and ran for the gate. He only briefly looked towards the giant creature towering over the airbase, crushing it beneath his massive feet. He should've suspected he'd be seeing the shell-shocked Trooper's Fire Monster for himself. But he didn't think it would look like this or even be that big. And he certainly didn't expect it to attack the very same airfield they decided to go after. That made absolutely no sense at all. He didn't have time to think about it much though, he needed to get to the gate and then to the tower.

He arrived at the same time Hera and the others did. He had already ditched the pilot's garb he had placed over his regular gear, so they recognized him instantly. No sense in remaining disguised now, they were far past that at this point.

"Looks like this airfield will soon sort itself out," he declared as he approached. "Now lets get through this gate fast."

"We could hack it," Sabine suggested. "Or you know just scale the wall like before."

"No, that would take too long," Kanan declared. "I got a faster way. Ezra, can you Force Jump the wall?"

The boy nodded in apt response to his master's question.

"Good," Kanan told him. "Do it, I'm going to Force Lift the others onto the top of the wall. Then they just have to drop down the other side. I'll jump over when its done. Let's move! That monster is practically through the Imps by now!"

* * *

Kamo got to the motor pool in relatively good time, faster than he would've expected at this age. Perhaps fear or adrenaline were driving him on. Regardless, he made it to the garage door, hoping to find another armored transport he could use to get more people out. They mostly used them for the transfer of troops and supplies to as well as from other bases and outposts, so they had quite a few of them. They couldn't have taken them all to fight the monster and if there were any left that meant they had more vehicles they could use to get people out.

That and he hoped there was something else in there for him.

Before he could get the doors open though, he thought he heard some kind of swooshing sound coming from behind. It was near the gate, like some sort of rushing wind. He turned and in the distance he saw a few darkened figures. He couldn't make out details, but he could see two individuals suddenly being lifted up and over the gate and then a third. Then a fourth figure seemed to thrust itself clear over the wall. Few people could do something like that, Kamo only knew of one type that could do it on his or her own.

"Not possible," he said astonished. "It couldn't be."

Another explosion brought him back to reality. Whatever the shade was, the greater threat was the super sized trandoshan burning the airbase to the ground. Kamo opened the door and rushed inside. There, to his relief, was a transport. Good, he could help get people out. He checked around for another second more, among the surplus supplies and found what he had been looking for. Inside a crate was a brand new set of white Stormtrooper armor, just his size.

"Not as good looking as the old duds, but they'll do," he declared.

Whatever else this day had brought, it had given him one thing he had always wanted. Something that had been taken away from him by ungrateful leaders. He had another chance to be the soldier he had been created to be. It was time to make a difference again.

* * *

Kanan kept in step with his companions as they ran for the communications tower. He fully suspected those inside to still be at their posts. They were probably trying to send a message to command, warning them of what was happening here. They need to break into the tower and hit them hard, then get Chopper to fly them out from the top. That monster currently pre-occupying the Stormtroopers would keep them from getting help. In the back of his mind he wondered if this was necessary at this point. The monster could very well decide to destroy the tower too. However, Kanan wasn't about to put the entire mission in the hands of a rampaging lizard. They needed to be sure the tower would be toppled completely, one way or another.

"Alright, get the door open and let's get this done," Kanan ordered Sabine.

"I'll call in Chop," Hera stated. "He can be here in less than five minutes, we'll only need four to finish this."

Sabine was able to slice the lock, but before she opened it she pressed her head to the door.

"They sound pretty panicky in there," she informed them. "Not that I blame them."

"That means they'll be jumpy, we should hit them before they can react," Kanan told her. "You got a smoke grenade."

"When do I not," Sabine asked in return. "It's also a lovely shade of orange yellow with an extra bit of crimson."

"Just get ready to throw it," Kanan said eyeing her incredulously.

Sabine just huffed and positioned herself against the door-frame.

"Is it so wrong I take pride in my work?" She asked as her finger slid over the button.

The door opened wide and Sabine rolled the smoke grenade into the room. All at once a cloud of orange and red spread throughout the room. The helmets of the Stormtroopers inside protected them from sucking in the pigment-filled cloud, but the bright colors blinded them regardless. That was when Kanan and Hera started firing into the room. Zeb followed moments after, charging towards the left side while Sabine took the right with Ezra behind her.

Zeb caught one of the Troopers off guard as he tried to fire back through the smoke. He slammed his foot into the man's head, he then flipped back and pinned him against the wall with his bo-rifle. A shot flew by the Lasat's head and he looked back to see a trooper further up the back steps of the room and above the smoke. Thinking quickly, Zeb grabbed the pinned trooper by the head and threw him at the offending trooper. They both collided and crumpled into a heap beside each other.

Sabine used her dual blasters to push her way forward, Ezra covering her back with his stun blaster. She nimbly spotted three Troopers hiding behind a set of supports. With little effort she fired two shots in separate directions, hitting both Troopers as they moved out to fire on her. she then trained both pistols on the third as he tried to strafe the room and get to cover. The trooper took several hits to his chest as Sabine laid into him with laser fire. However she neglected a fourth trooper who popped up behind a console to the far right of her.

As the Trooper trained his sights on her though, Ezra spotted him through the smoke and fired a stun shot that hit the Trooper dead in the face. He dropped to the floor screaming as the shock coursed through his body. Sabine stopped her gunslinging just long enough to look back at Ezra's handiwork.

"Nice one," she complimented.

"Hey, you got your art, I got mine," he boasted.

Ezra did not look nearly as cool in the next second when he jumped back in fright from a blast bolt that nearly took his nose off. The two teens quickly retreated behind some supports as the troopers in the center of the room opened fire on them. Sabine returned said fire, but the trooper had better protection behind the main console.

"Get Command back on the line," one said aloud. "We gotta report these Reb-"

The Trooper's comments were cut short as several shots cut him down along with his comrade beside him. They were all fired expertly by Hera. The twi'lek then rushed in beside Kanan, vaulting over the console to kick the final Trooper in the face and knock him down. She then ducked down into the console as fire rained down from the steps above. Two more Troopers were left and they had their sights set on Hera now. That made them neglect Kanan who reached out with The Force and picked them both up off the ground. He then tossed them both towards Zeb who batted them in both away with his deployed bo-rifle, shocking them into submission.

"That everyone now?" The Lasat asked, looking about the room. "I could go for another clean punch against these Bucketheads."

"I think we got them all," Hera replied, poking her head up. "Sorry to disappoint you."

"Meh, least I got the last two," Zeb said with a shrug.

Kanan looked at him with a disgruntled brow.

"Hey, that was an assist," he claimed.

"It only counts if you're the one to knock them down," the Lasat retorted with a grin.

"Whatever," Kanan relented. "Lets get the explosives out already. We have to leave before big, grey and crazy is done with those Stormtroopers."

* * *

Kamo had gotten the gate opened and high-tailed it back to the others. Mugal had managed to organize something of a retreat. Impromptu deployed turrets bombarded the monster from another direction, placing its attention elsewhere. The gunners in charge of the guns then got on Speeders and rushed away from the turrets as the creature advanced on them. That gave everyone enough time to either get in or on top of any remaining armored transports. There wasn't enough room for everyone though, some would just have to run or take some spare scout speeders they had lying around. For his part, Mugal was doing his best to keep the retreat orderly. He wasn't doing too bad for a man who had never had a command before.

Kamo's transport was a welcome sight by many a trooper. They piled into and onto the vehicle in droves, Arch helping as many as possible onto the transport. Kamo rushed out of the driver's seat, now covered in the bright white armor of the Stormtroopers. He assisted in getting wounded Troopers into the vehicle for a moment before he let Arch take over entirely. He then made his way over to Mugal to get a status report.

"Is this everyone, sir?" He asked frantically.

"Yes, all but one transport," he quickly explained. "I sent it to search for survivors near the front. I told them to pick up who they can and head back in five minutes. They should be coming back right about now."

Mugal looked towards where most of the fighting had been, watching as a transport sped towards them. Then, tragedy struck. The monster's giant tail crashed down on the transport's back and then smacked it. The vehicle was flipped forward and crashed just a few feet to the left of the Forward Operating Post. The transport, now in burning, was toppled onto its side.

"Oh no," Mugal said, eyes going wide in fear. He turned to Arch and Kamo as they stood nearby. "Kamo, get to your transport and follow me! Private Arch, get on that Speeder Bike and come with us! We need to get those men out of that wreck!"

"Copy!" Arch saluted, rushing to mount his bike.

Kamo got in his transport once more and took it towards the burning transport. Arch was riding along his left and Mugal was hanging off the side of the driver's cabin. They got to the wreck and Mugal jumped off to pry the doors open. Arch helped him and together they got the door open. Stumbling out of the vehicle came four badly injured Troopers. Arch and Mugal helped them to Kamo's transport.

"Anyone else in there?" Mugal asked desperately.

"No," one of the wounded troopers said. "I think we're all that's left."

Arch helped them onto the top of the transport, aided by some the troopers riding on it. However their rescue efforts turned sour when the giant reptile suddenly turned towards them. Kamo didn't know what to do, firing on the thing would only antagonize the creature, but at his current speed of approach they'd never outrun the beast. That's when Mugal looked towards the cabin, a firm look in his eyes.

"Kamo, knock the damaged transport back right-side up," he ordered.

Kamo followed the order, ramming the damaged transport and getting it turned off its side. Mugal then waved Kamo off towards the now retreating scores of Stormtroopers.

"Go on, I'll catch up!" He called out.

"But sir," Kamo shouted back out of concern.

"Do it, Old Timer!" The lieutenant ordered once again. "You get those men aboard out of here!"

Kamo did as told and Arch jumped back on his bike to follow the same orders. Kamo looked back out the window and saw Mugal clambering into the transport. Seconds later the vehicle's mounted gun started firing on the giant lizard, aiming for his head. This got the creature's attention and he turned away from the retreat Stormtroopers. He stomped towards the burning transport, still firing defiantly at the beast. The creature raised his massive foot and Kamo looked away. Just at that moment he heard a terrible crushing sound, an angered roar and then silence as the transport's turret stopped firing.

Kamo did his best to hold it together, gripping the wheel before and taking a breath. He then activated the comm and contacted the other transports.

"All vehicles, this is Communications Officer Kamo. Make for the Southeastern Gate and take the forest path to the valley," he ordered. "Rendezvous at Outpost 0671, we'll figure out our next move there."

* * *

The charges were quickly laid at critical support junctures throughout the tower. Quickly the Rebels made their way towards the top. Chopper had radioed in that he was on his way with the _Phantom _for pick-up. Once they got in they would head back to dock with the _Ghost_ and then Hera would put as much distance between them and the doomed Airbase as possible. And of course they'd blow the tower in between all that, it was just everyone was more focused on getting out of this alive at this point.

Kanan burst through the door at the top first and was therefore the first to behold the final moments of the Imperial Airbase. Stormtrooper transports streamed out of the southeastern gate in droves, heading into the forest as fast they could, their comrades on foot or on bike following best they could. However, the real sight was the monster. It stomped close to the main command and control building, raised its arms above its head and then slammed them down into the structure. He then fired a blast of his beam breath and annihilated what remained. As it stomped through the crumbling structure it turned towards the retreating transports.

"It's getting a bit too close for comfort now," Zeb grumbled worriedly.

Hera peered out in the midday sky and spotted something approaching through the dancing colors above them. It was a small little starfighter that they all recognized, the _Phantom_.

"Chopper's here," she assured them all. "We're in the clear."

Then suddenly, the monster looked up and changed course towards the communications tower and them. Apparently, Hera hadn't been the only one to spot Chopper and the creature's curiosity had gotten them better of it.

"Oh not us!" Sabine cried out in a panic. "Chase after the Imps!"

The creature roared its distinctive battlecry and quickened its pace towards them. Chopper finally got the _Phantom_ in position and opened the back door. Just as the monster was at near eye level to them all. Hera rushed to the cockpit and took the stick. When she looked out the window she was shocked to see the monster staring back with its big yellow eye. It suddenly opened its mouth, its giant teeth filling her view.

"Hera! Fly!" Kanan ordered aloud.

Hera pulled away, boosting the afterburners and narrowly missing the humongous rows of teeth that tried to chomp down on them. They boosted away, the back door still open. Sabine took up the detonator and looked out the open space. The creature turned towards the fleeing shuttle and roared at them as they escaped.

"Yeah, yeah," Sabine shouted back in defiance. "Skree-onk or whatever, we heard you the first couple hundred times! Wanna hear my roar? Goes like this!"

She jabbed her thumb down on the trigger and within an instant, the entire foot of the Communications tower exploded. The monster turned back and watched as the structure collapsed on top of him. The very top of the tower crashing down onto his head, hitting him in the side of the mouth. The creature roared in mild pain and scraped his claws against his face.

"Kaboom! Always a classic," Sabine laughed. "Thanks for the assist Big Grey! See ya around!"

She slammed the button on the side of the shuttle and let the door shut. They sped back to the _Ghost_ and were back in the air with their flying home within mere minutes. Hera turned on the afterburners and rocketed away from the burning rubble of the airbase and the monster who had both helped and almost killed them.

"Glad that's over," Zeb said with a relieved sigh from behind Hera.

"Don't bet on it," Hera cautioned. "Things just shifted into a whole new level for us."

* * *

The humans in white were routed, retreating in the little metal coffins for what they felt would be safety. The other small things, the ones that did not all smell human, had alluded him. It did not matter, there was no place on this planet they could hide. Godzilla looked to his handiwork. The airfield was still burning, belching smoke and fire from its remains. Another victory, greater than the previous night. He had proven to these new enemies that their weapons were of no use against him. Soon, they would realize that this world no longer belonged to them. It was his kingdom now and they lived or died at his discretion. He roared proudly up at the multicolored sky, making sure that the retreating white-clad soldiers would hear him. That they would know that this was but the start. The beginning of a new order for this world, one that would see them burn within the fires of his rage.

* * *

AN: Check Profile for link to Behind the Scenes Details on this Story


	4. Not Equipped to Fight Monsters

Chapter 3: Not Equipped to Fight Monsters

The news trickled in slowly and was difficult to process at first. Before long things became more clear, that Airfield 01, or Solar Flare Field as the men called it, had been virtually annihilated. The cause was a giant monster, akin to a Krayt Dragon that could breathe some kind of blue fire. It had destroyed the main bulk of their air power and, worse still, had seen fit to demolish the Communications Tower. The loss of an estimated seventy-five percent of their air based assets planetside was one thing, but the Communications Tower was devastating. It was why it had taken so long for all the relevant information to come through. Without the tower, the sun's radiation was playing havoc with all transmissions. It had taken them forever to acquire appropriate holo-footage that had been recorded during the creature's attack. What General Sakal and the rest of the assembled chief staff saw of it was terrifying.

The creature did indeed bear some resemblance to a krayt dragon, although there were clear differences. Mainly, it was lacking the trademark horns and possessed an ability to stand erect. It certainly matched the Krayt's infamous ferocity, perhaps even surpassed it. What was truly off putting, however, were its weapons. First there was that beam breath it fired, the next was that pulse it had let off. Sakal instantly realized that it had been electromagnetic in some fashion. That was how the creature brought the TIEs down, he disrupted their power. It had limited range though, not powerful enough to kill the power to the entire base. It stood to reason that the pulse attack was a close range weapon. The real concern though was what else the monster was capable of.

They had received these scattered reports from various Stormtroopers who had survived the attack and regrouped at one of the nearby outposts. It wasn't much to go on, the footage was admittedly of poor quality. It was enough to discern the course of events and it was disturbing. This monster had assaulted an Imperial Fortification and had been able to bulldoze through it with nary a scratch. Then there was that distinctive roar. It wasn't an easy noise to describe certainly, but it was unique in its sound. No other creature Sakal knew of made such a noise. It seemed almost like a battlecry, a defiant angry call that dared you to face it. And that let you know you would fail when you did.

Darth Vader was in the room with them, watching the footage as it came in. Sakal did his best not to look at him, but eventually failed. Although the black mask he wore betrayed no emotion, the General could tell Vader was not pleased. He did his best not to show his concern or fear, but Nulon didn't even seem to be trying. The man was sweating profusely, holding his hand to his mouth in shock. Boll, to her credit, did her best to look attentive and thoughtful. Not that it helped, not when Nulon opened his fat stupid gob.

"This is unprecedented," he shouted in fright. "No creature like this exists on Tsuburonda. We have nothing of it on record! How did we miss this? How?"

"It is possible this creature was dormant for the seven years we've been here," Boll suggested astutely. "Perhaps the Solar Storms have woken it from its hibernation."

"And now that it's done napping its decided to hunt us down for its breakfast!" Nulon screeched frightfully. "We... we need to act! We need to stop it somehow! General, I order you to find a way to kill that thing!"

Sakal just rolled his eyes, as if he needed an order to know what to do.

"I have already sent an order out to all Field Commanders telling them to do so while we were observing the footage," Sakal explained. "I've made it their primary concern. Klusto is in fact about to forward the holo footage to them personally."

"It's already done, sir," Klusto assured. "Unfortunately, the monster's destruction of our Communication Tower means it will take some time to fully transmit. I've also sent probe droids to track the monster's movements. We will not be caught off guard again. I have gone ahead and designated the monster as Alpha Predator One, per protocol."

Good, that would make things easier than just calling it "the monster" or a "giant krayt dragon" or whatever. However, it did nothing to quiet Nulon's simpering cowardice. He kept clutching his head and pacing about the room in a fright.

"Oh this is terrible," he stated. "Absolutely terrible! We need to send out everything we have! Throw them all at this Alpha Predator! Maybe even send the prototype to-"

"No," Vader suddenly shouted. "I will not jeopardize the only Zillo-Beast you have managed to properly clone and outfit. You are in no position to make such decisions regarding the prototype's use."

"My Lord, I was only-"

"Displaying behavior unbecoming of a man of your station," Vader finished for him as he approached. "If you wish to retain what authority and prestige you believe you've earned than you will keep your mouth shut."

Nulon stopped talking, something that gave Sakal great relief and a slight sense of joy. He didn't show it though, not wanting to invoke Vader's anger on himself by accident. However, as stupid as Nulon was, there was a small bit of truth in his panicked words.

"Lord Vader, I think it would be wise if we considered our available forces," he explained astutely. "With the loss of the majority of planet-based air power and the ineffectiveness of our weapons, we should consider some form of reinforcement."

"That may indeed be necessary," Vader admitted. "I will see to the matter of reinforcement personally. However, General, the task of eliminating this Alpha Predator is ultimately your responsibility. Keep that in mind."

Sakal shuddered a bit at Vader's words. They sounded near close to threatening. The grave tone they were spoken in forced him to better adjust his hat as Vader turned away. Thankfully, he next turned to Boll. It was her turn to get chewed out no doubt, which suited Sakal fine.

"Doctor, what more can you tell me of this new creature?" Vader asked, motioning a hand to the monster's holographic image.

"Without sufficient data, I can only offer hypothesis and conjecture," she explained. "I would need more hard evidence to formulate a proper theory."

"I do not want theories, I want you to discover its weakness and how it might be exploited," Vader argued.

"Well, typically, you would need a theory to test in order to discover that," Boll hesitantly answered back.

Vader looked at the Doctor with a frightening glare.

"Have you suddenly decided to act insubordinate towards me, Doctor?" Vader asked, his voice boiling at the edge of rage.

"No," Boll insisted raising a hand in her defense. "I was merely explaining the proper process of-"

Vader suddenly activated his lightsaber and raised it to Boll's eye level. The Doctor stood dumbstruck in horror as the red laser blade filled the space between her and Vader's, nearly blinding her as it did.

"I will not stand here and have my intelligence insulted and my authority undermined as such, Doctor," he said glaring at her. "Do not think so highly of yourself that you cannot be replaced and that your mouth is allowed to make slights at my expense."

"For-forgive me, Lord Vader," she pleaded. "I meant no disrespect."

Vader didn't bring the lightsaber down, he let it hang in the space between him and Boll. Sakal honestly thought he was about to watch the good doctor get decapitated in front of him. As much as he didn't like the woman for all the spats they had gotten into over the years, he didn't want to see her killed. Not when they still needed her to complete the project on schedule and not over something as small as her trying to explain the scientific method. Luckily, for Boll at least, Klusto stepped in.

"My Lord," he announced. "Doctor Boll was only trying to clarify her statement. She never meant to suggest anything else. She recognizes your authority as the Emperor's right hand, we all do."

Vader lowered the blade slightly, staring at the frightened Doctor Boll for another moment. He finally deactivated the blade and the Bivall woman breathed a sigh of relief as Vader turned.

"You are forgiven, Boll, this time," Vader assured her. "But only because the Empire still needs you. I want you to determine this new monster's potential weaknesses, discover what if anything can harm it. Your schedule to complete the Zillo-Beast for testing still stands, however. I suggest you prioritize your time wisely."

"Yes, Lord Vader," Boll responded, bowing and nearly our of breath. "I will do as you command. And thank you for your show of mercy. I apologize once more, I meant no disrespect. I am the Empire's humble servant."

"I do not require apologies or groveling, I require results," Vader demanded. "Do not disappoint me."

After that display, Sakal dreaded it more when Vader turned to him. He did not expect the man's anger to have subsided in the last ten seconds. Sakal just hoped whatever he had to ask he could answer effectively.

"What is your strategem against this creature, General?" Vader asked. "What plan do you have to insure its swift destruction?"

"I am formulating one as we speak, my Lord," he assured. "Within my specified orders I mentioned previously, I requested all available Field Commanders make preparations to contact me by the third quarter of this rotation. We need to re-establish some kind of Command and Control without the tower if we are to plan against Alpha Predator One accordingly."

"Good, I will see to potential reinforcement and call every available Star Destroyer in the nearby systems to make their way here," Vader proclaimed. "I will leave my own forces in reserve for now. You will be in command of the reinforcements once they touch ground and will direct them towards the task of destroying this creature. See to it that it is accomplished quickly. Nothing must be allowed to jeopardize this project now."

With that, Vader left the room, his Cape billowing behind him as he marched. His two Stormtroopers followed shortly after and the door closed shut behind him. All at once, Doctor Boll exhaled heavily and was forced to prop herself up against the holotable. Klusto moved over to help her up.

"Thank you, Commander," she said gratefully. "You may have just saved my life."

"Think nothing of it, Sionver," he insisted. "But I suggest you pick your words wiser next time."

"Indeed," Boll agreed. "I did not think he would be so quick to anger. Again, thank you."

Klusto smiled brightly at the crested alien, all Sakal could do was groan lightly at the scene. He didn't have much time to do so though, as Nulon felt like talking again.

"Are you sure you can find a way to kill this thing?" He asked. "It seems nearly indestructible."

"Nothing is invincible, Overseer," Sakal assured. "I suggest you keep your concerns towards completing the prototype where they belong. I will handle this monster personally, rest assured of that."

As Sakal looked to the creature's holo-image though, he wondered if he was reassuring Nulon or himself. This thing wasn't an army of droids or unruly dissidents. This was something he and his men had never been up against. He just hoped whatever backup Vader acquired would arrive soon, before the fate of Solar Flare Field became their own.

* * *

"_A giant lizard?"_ Ahsoka's holo-image asked in astonishment. _"A giant lizard that breathes blue fire stomped out of the forest and helped you burn that airbase to the ground?"_

"That's the long and short of it," Hera admitted. "To be fair, it mostly did all the work."

Ahsoka groaned, rubbing the side of her head in frustration.

"_Why is nothing ever just simple?"_ She asked aloud. _"Now we not only have the Empire to deal with, but this thing. This is not good."_

They knew as soon as this little wrinkle appeared they'd need to contact their ex-Jedi compatriot. Luckily their long range communications on the secure line to Fulcrum weren't as hampered as the Empire's own transmissions. The _Ghost's_ boosted transmitter was more than adequate at cutting through the radiation. It wasn't all bad news of course, the objectives had been accomplished and their air support would have more free reign when they arrived. The problem was that now they would have to deal with both the Empire and possibly this monster when the troops landed here.

"Maybe we should just let the blasted thing continue its rampage and call off the mission," Zeb suggested. "Chances are he'll do all our work for us."

"And leave destroying that Zillo-Beast Cloning Lab and all the research up to a rogue overgrown dewback?" Kanan asked rhetorically. "No, too risky. The Empire might kill him before he even gets close to the Lab. We'd be leaving the objective up to chance."

"_Kanan is right," _Ahsoka concurred. _"The mission at hand is too important to leave in the hands of a chaotic element like this. Besides, perhaps we can use it to our advantage. The Empire will be out for the monster now and will probably send the bulk of their forces after it. That should give you a better chance at taking over the Orbital Gun site."_

"But chances are that the Empire will also beef up their forces in preparation to either defend or attack the creature," Hera warned. "This thing may simultaneously eat up and increase the forces we have to face in the assault."

Ahsoka nodded at Hera's words, acknowledging her point. She offered a counter though.

"_There is still a window of opportunity we can exploit before those reinforcements arrive,"_ she explained. _"If nothing else, it could make getting down to the planet easier for us. If you can get the Orbital Gun down in that time frame, it will give us a greater chance to blow past the blockade surrounding the planet."_

"We won't have long," Sabine warned. "Average time for Imperial Reinforcement is pretty quick once it's called in. If we want to exploit this window we gotta do it soon."

"We'll recon the Orbital Gun and see what we're up against," Kanan decided. "Hopefully that thing is as far away as possible from it."

"_Our own forces will be in position soon,"_ Ahsoka cautioned. _"You have to get that gun on our side or we're not setting foot on that planet period. Keep an eye on this monster regardless, if it continues attacking Imperial Installations it may yet prove beneficial to our mission. Otherwise, steer clear of it. You're too valuable to the operation to go off monster hunting. Good luck. Fulcrum, out."_

Ahsoka's image faded and the group turned to each other in response. As if they needed her explict orders not to go near that monster. They appreciated the concern at least, even if it wasn't needed. However, Kanan himself recognized something he potentially agreed with.

"I sense Ahsoka may be right," he informed the team. "That creature isn't going to stop at the airbase. It's probably already preparing for its next assault."

"But this time the Empire will be ready for it," Hera noted. "I don't envy getting into the middle of that fight."

Kanan agreed, he was more than willing to let both the Empire and the giant monster hounding them at the moment destroy each other. It would make all their lives so much easier. However, there was something about the giant lizard that gave Kanan pause. Something that Hera and the others seemed to pick up on.

"Can you sense anything from this monster?" Hera asked him. "What is it? What does it want, if anything?"

"I'm not sure," Kanan admitted. "Something about the way you described how it fought though. It reminds me of the Zillo-Beast footage we saw before. Directed, focused, not random. I felt something from it when I saw it, very faint, anger... a lot of it."

"Yeah," Ezra agreed rubbing his own head a bit. "I felt it too. I think it wanted to fight actually. The fact it opened fire on the Imperials suggests as much."

A troubling prospect, animals didn't seek battles on their own accord often. The attack and the monster's fighting style suggested some level of sentience. That did not bode well with Kanan.

"If this thing is intelligent, we shouldn't underestimate it," he warned the team. "I could tell just by looking at it that it is impossibly powerful. If it's smart, that just makes it more dangerous."

"Well its a good thing we don't have to deal with it then," Zeb reminded them. "Its after the Bucketheads, not us."

"For now," Hera stated cautiously. "What are the chances it gets bored and comes after us instead? Like Ahsoka said, we should keep an eye on it. Try to find out more about it, where it came from, why it's attacking the Empire."

Hera's words suddenly sparked something in Kanan's head. He was surprised he hadn't thought of it until now, but Hera always seemed to bring out the best in him even when she wasn't trying. He now had a way to accomplish getting more intel on their target and observe their monstrous friend at the same time.

"Here's a question for everyone," he stated abruptly "If you were the Empire and you lost your Communications Tower like they just did, what would you do?"

"Well I'd imagine they'd want to get eyes on Big Grey to make sure it doesn't sneak up on them again," Sabine suggested. "Only without the Tower it won't be very easy to communicate with the ships in orbit."

"But a probe droid could keep an eye on the thing," Zeb slowly realized for himself. "The giant lizard probably won't even notice something that small."

"And with their transmission link capabilities they could easily cut through the interference caused by the radiation," Hera added jubilant realization. "They'd just have to pass the data on from droid to droid down the line until it arrived."

Ezra was the last to realize Kanan's plan, but to his credit he didn't need it explained to him. He was able to discern his master's intent pretty quickly.

"I get it! We find one of these probe droids, we disable it, reprogram it and then send it off to spy on the Empire for us!" He declared happily. "We get to see the monster in action some more and steal us a way to spy on the Orbital Gun so we can plan our attack. It's perfect."

"Chopper could easily rewire the little Imp Droid," Sabine stated. "The tricky part is making sure we disable it before it spots us or transmits anything that could give us away."

"Tricky, but not impossible," Kanan assured. "I got a plan. All it requires is waiting for the Empire, droids included, being distracted by another monster rampage. And if what we saw earlier this morning is any indication, our big grey friend is probably already itching for another scrap."

* * *

There wasn't much in the way of blue paint at the outpost, but Kamo made due. It may not be regulation anymore, but armor didn't feel right to him if it wasn't personalized in some small way. He carefully creased a blue half-crescent that spread over his helmet's forehead and peaked under the edges of both his eyes. He then spread a small blue line down where the bridge of the nose would be and parted it at the end with an upside-down V that passed over the mouth crease in the design.

It was the closest he was going to get to how he had painted his original helmet. If he had more time he'd have probably done the chest and arms, but he imagined he'd get guff from any Field Officers if he went that far. He had heard some Stormtroopers liked to stylize their own helmets, it just depended on if their commander let them or not. Usually it was not. He never understood why the Empire had made a big deal about that when the Stormtroopers took over from the Clones. He supposed it was to be more uniformed, more rigid and imposing. Kamo just thought it was ironic that the new guys were now required to look exactly alike and the Clones were allowed to a greater expression of individuality. It was almost enough to make you laugh.

"Sweet War Paint, sir," Arch said, currently sitting across from him in the Transport. "They only let us do that kind of stuff for camouflage."

"Thanks, Private," Kamo replied as he looked over. "Just an old habit, I guess. Glad you like it."

"How's it feel being back in armor then?" Arch asked next, rather enthusiastically.

Arch couldn't see it under the helmet, but Kamo was practically beaming.

"Honestly? Fantastic," he admitted sounding more upbeat than ever, but his tone soon turned sour once more. "Wish it was under better circumstances."

"I think everyone feels the same way," Arch concurred cautiously. "This was not how I wanted my first real bit of combat to go."

A full-scale retreat from a giant rampaging monster was hardly the way anyone wanted to get baptized on the battlefield. At least they hadn't been massacred or got split apart. The survivors of Solar Flare Field had made it to the next outpost past the forest trees. However, they soon found themselves abandoning it as well when news came in that the Monster was spotted heading in their direction.

Near as Kamo could tell, they were being redeployed to ahead of the creature's path. They were going to counter the monster on the road to its next target. That was at least what he had deduced on his own. He didn't know specifics, but suspected the Officer in charge of the ambush or counterattack would want to debrief him. He hoped it was quick though, as he didn't want to waste much time explaining and reliving the events from a few hours ago again. He wanted payback and he could tell Arch did too, the Private had been hunched over and uneasy since they had left the outpost.

Wanting something and actually getting it though was another thing. Kamo had faced a lot of scary things in his life, this monster though was a whole other thing. Arch had mentioned their outpost's turbolaser did nothing to stop it, but then again it was only one. Maybe more guns, bigger guns, could make a dent in the creature. Something told him though it wouldn't be that easy. Something about this grey lizard felt off.

"So how does a Clone end up out here in the middle of nowhere anyway?" Arch suddenly asked, probably trying to get his mind off their current problem.

"I got lucky I guess," Kamo admitted with a shrug. "Most of us got discharged after the war. I was able to stay in though when I made an appeal to my superior. He was able to pull some strings and instead of getting discharged I got transferred to General Sakal's division. I've been doing communications work ever since and I ended up here when the General and the division were sent here to provide security. I'm probably the only Clone left in the Rep- I mean, Imperial Military."

"Lucky us then," Arch told him. "Almost everyone else in the division is fresh out of the academy or has been pulling grunt police work across the Outer Rim. Nice to know that we have someone with some combat experience right now."

Kamo just let out a short laugh.

"I didn't really get much experience against gigantic angry dewbacks to be honest," he stated jovially. "Right now, I think I'd settle for a few bigger guns."

"I hear that, sir," Arch agreed wholeheartedly. "Hopefully whatever the brass has in mind is enough to stop that thing. I'm telling ya, they need to bring down some Star Destroyers and a hell of a lot of Walkers. Only chance we got."

An excessive strategy? Maybe, but Kamo understood where it came from. He hoped the Field Officers were going to take this thing seriously himself. This monster wasn't going to be an easy kill.

"You know, the Academy gave lessons on a lot of the battles you guys fought," Arch noted. "Really inspiring stuff."

"Really? I didn't think they cared enough to mention us anymore," Kamo responded in surprise.

"Well they leave out a lot of names and they never mention specific soldiers," Arch admitted. "They usually talk about you from a command perspective. They also made us run a lot of the same courses you did from what I hear and learn up on the fights you got in to prepare for them."

Typical, Kamo thought, they mention the battles but hardly think of the people who fought in them. Specifically they never really mentioned the Clones as anything more than what they had been labeled now, as expendable units. The Officers were the heroes of those battles, more specifically the Imperial Officers. The Jedi were never mentioned and individual feats of valor by Clones was more of a curiosity than anything else. No names, just actions and events. Kamo would've been insulted, but really it was better than being omitted entirely like the Jedi were. At least it proved that there was still some reverence for the Clones left.

"Always wondered what it was like being bred and born for Combat like that," Arch recalled. "I mean, I'm probably not even half the soldier you are. You were made to be one, I just picked up the job cause it sounded exciting."

"Don't sell yourself short yet, kid," Kamo tried to reassure him, noting how he sounded a bit ashamed for having confessed to all that. "You got a long career ahead of you. Chances are you'll turn out just as good as any Clone."

"Well assuming we takeout the big grey flame spewing lizard of course," Arch added a bit nervously.

The transport suddenly came to stop, they had arrived. Quickly they and the other troopers inside piled out. It was already late mid-day, although it was hard to tell through the bright dancing lights in the sky. More relevant was where they were. From all appearances, they were on one side of a very large canyon somewhere in the badlands of the planet. There were at least three or so armored companies, tanks and artillery pieces, lined up along both ends of the canyon. Kamo could see the edge of the opposite cliff as well, where there were several turbolaser emplacements inside small caves within the cliff face. It stood to reason that there were more in the caves on their side too.

"Looks like they're rolling out the welcome wagon," Arch observed.

"But is it an ambush or defensive line?" Kamo asked.

"Bit of both actually."

The two turned to see an Imperial Officer standing behind them. He had a hard look to him and he was giving Kamo a deeper glare than Arch for the moment.

"I was told you are the most Senior Officer to survive the destruction of Airfield 01," he began. "I was not told you also felt inclined to decorate your uniform in such a manner."

Kamo decided to take off his helmet, hoping that would be enough to explain. The Officer just sighed when he saw the old soldier's face.

"Ah yes, a Clone, I should've known," he responded in a rather tired and annoyed voice. "Well I suppose that I can allow it in this case, given the special circumstances. I am Lieutenant Commander Agiri, I am in charge of this operation."

"Communications Officer Kamo, sir," the Clone saluted in reply. "This is Scout Trooper Private Arch. He first encountered the monster at his outpost. He was brought to the Airfield when a TIE Fighter Flight picked him up in a state of shock. They thought he had been attacked by Mantises."

"I assume this TIE Pilot was killed in the ensuing battle at the Airfield then?" Agiri questioned.

"I can only assume, sir," Kamo admitted.

Truth be told, he was a bit confused about that initial report now himself. However, Arch barely remembered anything after he blacked out during the attack. He couldn't really get the details he needed out of him to better explain matters, but he trusted Arch was telling the truth so far as he remembered it. He didn't know the TIE Pilot's side of things so most of the story was lost. It didn't matter now anyway, the monster was the real concern so far as he knew.

"I don't suppose the Private has some insight he wishes to share," Agiri asked.

"Just one, sir," he stated. "I hope you're bringing in a Star Destroyer or two."

Agiri just huffed at the suggestion, as if to mock the very thought of it.

"Such measures won't be necessary I'm sure," he informed him. "The creature so far has only been engaged with small arms. Currently we have deployed a number of heavy weapons within and around the canyon, all of them high yield. General Sakal's strategy has been laid out to the letter, we are following those directives as per his orders."

"And what exactly, if I may ask, is the plan, sir?" Kamo asked curiously.

Agiri just walked past the Clone Trooper towards the edge of the canyon, keeping his back stuff and jaw firm as he did.

"Our probe droids are currently tracking the creature on a direct course for the canyon," he began as he looked up down the large crack within the earth. "We are unsure of the reason for its present course, but we do know that a number of our key resource and power installations lay beyond it. When the beast arrives, two tank squads will engage upon his approach. They will lure him into the Canyon and the rest of the companies shall then break cover while our artillery opens fire. The creature, designated Alpha Predator One, will be trapped within the crossfire as turbolasers and tanks lay into him. The canyon's depth will bring him down to a considerable size from this position. We aim for the eyes and wherever it's hide appears weakest. That should finish it."

It was a pretty textbook strategy. They had used it on droids during the Clone Wars. You lured the enemy in, pulled back, allowed him to encircle himself and then surprise him with a lighting assault. It worked on battledroids, it worked on regular armies, but Kamo wasn't sure if it was the best for this situation. This creature was far bigger and tougher than a group of droids were after all.

"Is this wise, sir?" He asked respectfully. "We'd be engaging in such close-quarters, especially inside the canyon itself. Our long range capability seems to be our best bet and a Star Destroyer could even the odds a bit."

"The Destroyers are needed to blockade this planet from potential intruders," Agiri stated. "More importantly, I and the other Field Commanders agree that it would be an excessive waste of air power. With communications hampered by the tower's destruction, we cannot effectively coordinate orbital bombardment either. It seems pointless to use such weapons on blowing up one angry reptile. Our forces will be sufficient."

He pointed to one of the nearby tanks. It sported two large pointed repulsor lift treads on either side while the main body was a stout little section of the vehicle with a swiveling turret atop it. It was also armed with two missile launchers on either side.

"That is an 2-M Repulsor Tank," Agiri informed him. "It is an effective anti-armor weapon, with a heavy laser cannon and missile launchers to boot. I have three full companies mobilized in this canyon. One on our side, the other on the adjacent side and the third split between the two with a few within the canyon itself. They alone are worth at least the equivalent of one Star Destroyer's fire power."

He then motioned over to another of the vehicles, a large eight-legged low to the ground walker with a slopped cockpit and a heavy turbolaser cannon on its back. It reminded Kamo a little of their own walkers, back during the Clones Wars.

"That is an SPMA," Agiri declared proudly. "The real thrust of this attack. Self-Propelled Medium Artillery, enough firepower to level a skyscraper on Coruscant to rubble in a single barrage. The heavy turbolaser up top is more accurate than even the tanks. I have a full two platoons worth of them on either side of the canyon. They will blind Alpha Predator One with relative ease, disabling his ability to strike back. While he's wounded the tanks will finish him off."

Agiri looked back to Kamo with a very pleased look.

"So you see, Communications Officer Kamo, the situation is well in hand," he declared rather stiffly. "We do not need a Star Destroyer to clean up this mess."

"I wouldn't presume this is enough to take on that creature, sir." Kamo warned once more. "This thing is extremely dangerous and possesses abilities more akin to actual weapons than anything I've ever seen from an animal. It destroyed several transports back at Solar Flare Field with just one blast."

At this point Agiri grew ever more tired and annoyed by the Clone Trooper's arguments. He shoved a finger into the old man's chest.

"The decision has already been made and we have committed to this strategy," he informed him. "We are not going to alter the plan now. You may appear to be seasoned, soldier, but that is because you are a lab experiment with an overactive aging rate. I have fought several battles against droids, insurrectionists and terror groups in the past. It is why the General poached me from another division, why his second, Commander Klusto, put me in charge of training new recruits and why I am leading this task force. We are only talking because, among your group of survivors, you are the only remaining officer of significant rank."

Kamo didn't care for Agiri's tone, but kept his mouth shut and let him go on his spiel. Let him boast for a bit longer, there was no sense in talking back and getting in more trouble. Agiri now raised his back up proper once more and took on his air of professionalism again.

"To be frank, having a Clone placed in such a capacity is most distressing," he explained. "Your kind is... defective and hard to properly command in my experience. I would hope, however, that you follow my instructions and will endeavor to make sure the rest of your unit does the same."

"Sir, I have no intention of disobeying orders," Kamo assured him. "I only wish to advise caution on a course of action I believe is potentially costly."

"I don't want to hear your complaints, I want your compliance," Agiri reiterated. "So inform me of whether I have it or not."

Kamo just sighed, there was no point in going on. It was like talking to a brick wall.

"Yes, sir," he relented at last. "You have it."

"Very good," Agiri declared with a smug smile. "Full briefing is within the hour. We expect a report from our probes by then on Alpha Predator One's progress. I expect to see you there for your instructions on how your people are to function in this operation. Good day, gentlemen."

Agiri left them, marching as all Imperial Officers like him seemed to do, his chest puffed out like a proud old bird with a big head. Kamo just glared at the man's back as he put his helmet back on. At least the Jedi, regardless of what they did in the end, respected the Clones they commanded for the most part.

"Guess he's not interested in listening to us, huh?" Arch asked.

"Well, maybe he has a point," Kamo admitted. "Maybe all these tanks and guns will be enough to take that thing down. If we can just find a weak spot, there's a chance we can pull it off."

"Any ideas where it might be?" Arch asked.

"No, but maybe that probe droid report will give me an idea," Kamo told him. "Go meet back up with the men, Arch. I'll see about Agiri's briefing and get back to you."

Arch just saluted and took off to meet back up with the others. Kamo knew now this wasn't going to be that easy. He was already thinking a whole new set of holes in this plan as Arch was leaving. By the time his mind settled down, he realized that they may all be in over their heads here. If nothing else, maybe this fight could reveal an actual weakness. He just hoped not too many people would die to discover it.

* * *

The _Ghost_ kept out of visual range, making sure its scrambler was running at full capacity. To every Imp with a scanner down below, they were just more cosmic radiation in a sea of it. As for their big grey friend, they could see him from all the way up here just fine. He wasn't exactly hard to spot anymore since he started moving through the desert. Hera and Kanan watched the big grey reptile as it lumbered across the arid sands on its way towards a canyon in the distance. Sensors could read several probe droids circling it regularly, probably trying to get a read on the creature for the Empire to better combat it.

"You'd think they'd have sent down a Star Destroyer to bombard it," said Hera curiously.

"They're probably worried about the energy beam it fires," Kanan suggested. "Either that or they think that measure would be overkill."

"You can always count on the Empire to be overconfident," Hera huffed in response.

Although one wondered if the monster could be accused of the same vice. It didn't seem deterred from its present course, intent on entering the canyon it was heading towards. Hera suspected it could now see what her long-range scanners had already detected, a mass of repulsorlift tanks taking up positions along the ridge near the creature's approach. It didn't seem at all threatened by the show of force. The confrontation was inevitable now.

"How long do you think we'll have to get our probe?" She asked Kanan.

"Not long," he warned. "Either the probes will get shot down by friendly fire or that thing's massive tail when they go in too close. We need to move quickly if we're going to get one intact. Otherwise we're going to lose time fixing one."

That was certainly something they couldn't afford. They needed to get it back up, running and spying on its former masters quickly. All they needed to do was knock one out before it could spot key to accomplishing that was speed.

"You really think we can grab the probe fast enough?" Hera asked Kanan once more.

"It all depends on making sure they're all focused on the big scary titanic lizard," Kanan reiterated. "Which won't be too hard since he's kind of an eye catcher. I'm just hoping that this all pays off in the end."

Hera looked at him curiously upon that remark.

"What do you mean by that?" She asked, her face somewhat rumpled into suspicious glare.

"I mean I'm wondering if this is going to pay off the way you and Ahsoka want it to," Kanan argued. "No matter what happens, security at that cloning facility it going to be tightened. I'm thinking we need to consider changing the plan."

"You agreed to the plan," Hera reminded him.

"That was before the giant angry lizard showed up," he retorted. "I know you were hoping to show a united front, but maybe we should consider just bombing that place with our air support and hoping that's enough. Otherwise, I think we might be wasting the opportunity to kill that thing they're building."

Hera understood his concerns, Kanan had been hesitant about this whole operation from the start. The reason he had gone along with it was to stop the Zillo-Beast they currently had close to finished. If it wasn't dead, it would probably be on Lothal within a month. Kanan didn't want that to happen. Partially because off all the people they had left behind would suffer for it. Hera suspected thought that it was mostly because it was Ezra's home.

He couldn't have the young padawan worrying even more about the planet they had left behind like they had. At least that was what Hera thought Kanan felt. Ezra had clearly felt horrible about abandoning his home to the Empire like they did. A monster parading around on it that they could've stopped would just compound the guilt. It made this mission more personal to Kanan because it was potentially personal to Ezra. This wasn't just about the history behind the cloning project, that much Hera was certain of.

"I share your concerns, believe me," Hera assured him. "But you need to have faith in the overall picture. I'm positive Ahsoka will adjust the plan given these new circumstances. She wants that cloned Zillo-Beast dead as much as you do."

"I'm just worried we may have gotten in over our heads here, again," Kanan elaborated. "I want to do more, really. I don't want us getting forced into something we can't get out of. I want us to be ready, not jumping into things we're not prepared for. It's not fair expecting this much of us this soon. We've lost too much already, especially Ezra."

Hera shared in Kanan's crestfallen look. She recognized the problem of moving too fast, doing things beyond their capability. They probably weren't ready for a lot things, honestly. But the Galaxy wouldn't wait for them to be and neither would the Empire. They couldn't find out what they were capable of if they didn't take the risk to test themselves.

"We've all lost a lot, it's true," she agreed. "But we're part of something bigger now and we have to accept that. We need to believe we can do this or we're not going to get far in anything. It's like that old saying goes I guess, trust in The Force."

"Yeah, that's always a bit of a wild card to be honest," Kanan responded with a bit a jovial huff.

It wasn't meant to be dismissive, just an acknowledgment that the saying was a bit abject in some things. You couldn't really put all your eggs in the basket of an overarching mystical energy that bound the universe together, Hera knew that. Still, it helped to know there was something out there that could potentially help them, even if it was in a less than direct way. At least he sounded a bit more lighthearted again.

"Well, if you need something more tangible," she suggested comfortingly. "Trust in the crew. In Zeb, Sabine, Ezra, Chop... and me."

"I always trust you, Hera," Kanan assured her with a grin. "How many times have you been there to pull me out of a fire after all?"

"Well I can get the score chart and check," she slyly admitted.

Kanan let out a surprised snicker at that.

"You keep track?" He asked.

"Someone has to," she stated smiling coyly. She then bent over to lay a comforting hand on his shoulder. "We'll go over the plan with Ahsoka when she lands. We all realize things are going to have to change now. We all know that. Let's just focus on actually getting the landing ships to the surface first."

Before the conversation could go further, the sensors picked up something. The Tanks were opening up on the monster. The Empire was putting its plan into motion.

"Time to get to work then," Kanan declared, his face turning back to his more serious disposition. "I'll get the others ready."

"Nabbing a probe from under the Empire's nose during a fight with a giant monster," Hera stated as she took up the _Ghost's_ stick. "If this wasn't on my bucket list before, it's about to be checked off now."

* * *

The attack was now underway. The tanks along the ridge had opened fire as soon as the monster got into range. They shot volley after volley as fast as their turrets and gunners could manage. The creature didn't seem at all bothered by the constant barrage though, if anything to Kamo it looked like it was just making him angrier. He roared as the shots continued to battered his hard grey scaly hide. Stand from a forward observation post among the other Troopers, watching the opening moves of the attack unfold, Kamo radioed Agiri about the progress so far.

"Alpha Predator One is taking every shot the tanks are throwing at him," he reported. "He hasn't fired back yet, but he certainly doesn't feel welcomed."

"_It's nothing to be concerned about, Officer Kamo,"_ Agiri informed him rather plainly. _"We are merely luring him into the trap. Advise the Tank Commanders to pull back once he's within half a kilometer of the Canyon entrance. He won't be able to resist the chase."_

"Yes, sir," Kamo replied, holding back a few of his less than agreeable thoughts on the subject.

It was true, the monster probably wouldn't resist the chase. The problem was did they really want him to chase them? Especially when all they seemed to be doing was annoying him. There wasn't much Kamo could though, he was lucky enough that Agiri decided he could man the observation post. The Lieutenant Commander was leading this operation, he had to carry out his orders. Didn't mean he wouldn't act on his own initiative though, as he suspected he would soon have to.

It wasn't long before the creature passed Agiri's line in the sand of sorts and the tanks pulled back from the edge. The lumbering lizard still hadn't fired his beam weapon again and Kamo wondered why. Maybe it didn't have as big a range as he had once thought or maybe he just didn't feel like wasting it just yet. Who could say as far as a mammoth reptile was concerned. Kamo had been trained to anticipate the tactics and moves of enemy soldiers, not monsters.

As Agiri had predicted, the monster soon entered the Canyon. Kamo and the rest of the observation post pulled back to a safer position near the artillery positions hidden in the rocks nearby. These weren't mobile guns like the ones on the SPMAs. These were stationary and used when one wanted something with a longer range. They were slightly upgraded models from the ones Kamo had seen used in the Clone Wars. It was among these guns that they then waited for Agiri's order to spring the trap. Kamo found Arch manning one of the artillery cannons.

"I'll give Agiri this much," Arch began as he hefted a shell into the cannon. "These are some major guns. And compared to the ones on the walkers, they're kids toys. Maybe we can at least make the lizard think twice."

"Let's not assume anything until we actually get some results," Kamo warned. "I've been in enough scraps to know battles rarely go how you'd like them."

Agiri's voice suddenly came over the nearby command channel.

"_All guns, the creature is entering the total saturation target mark,"_ he declared. _"Fire at will! Reduce this monstrosity to ashes!"_

On the Commander's orders, Arch quickly closed the shell hatch for the artillery cannon and gave a thumbs up to the gunner. Within moments, that gun and several more opened up with a furious barrage of super-heated plasma. They cascaded down upon the monster, colliding with his head. The beast roared back as the barrage continued, pouring shells down the length of his back.

"I think we're actually hurting it!" Arch state jubilantly as he loaded another shell.

Kamo looked through his marcobinoculars, seeing for himself that the young Private wasn't wrong in his assumption. This time, the lizard did look to be in pain. Pain wasn't the same as wounded though and when the smoke cleared all Kamo could see were those same angry yellow eyes from mere moments before.

The tanks and artillery walkers lurched out of their cover and sped towards attack position. Missiles and energy blasts hurtled into the monster's body from both sides of the canyon. They continued to pummel him repeatedly, eliciting more angry roars from him. Yet nothing seemed to be piercing the hide of the reptile. Kamo couldn't make out any damage, no blood, no cuts. It didn't make sense. Agiri apparently noticed it too, as his next orders over the radio came down.

"_Focus fire on Alpha Predator One's head," _he ordered. _"Blow it clean off if you have to!"_

The monster acted before the tanks could. He smashed his tail into the side of the canyon walls, shaking the very ground beneath them with each swipe. The miniature earthquakes threw off the aim of the Imperials just enough that the creature was able to escape their barrage and duck down into the canyon for cover entirely.

"_Tanks, move up and fire down at the dumb animal!" _Agiri ordered. _"Finish it off!"_

Finish it off? Clearly the Lieutenant Commander didn't take the creature's move for what it was, but Kamo could. It was getting itself out of the range of fire, not falling down in pain. Those tails swipes of his had probably destroyed the turbolaser cannon positions he had seen in the caves before. He could still hear the shaking and rumbling beneath his feet now. The monster was punching or slamming itself into the rock to get rid of the remaining turrets harassing him from below. At the same time, he was avoiding the tanks and artillery walkers hitting him from the side. The worse part was though, that Agiri was closing the gap between the those same tanks and the monster itself. Kamo quickly got on the line and tried to report in.

"Sir, I strongly advise against sending the tanks," he warned. "They'll be in danger at that close range a to the monster."

"_Thank you for your advice, Officer Kamo,"_ Agiri replied haughtily. _"I shall take it under advisement. Tank Commanders, proceed to canyon edge and lay into the target!"_

Now all Kamo do was watch as the tanks moved closer for what they probably thought was an easy kill. It would not be. As the 2-Ms approached the edge, a grey scaly head crested back up from below. It roared briefly and then slammed its massive skull into the side of the canyon, crushing three tanks as it. The creature's tail then slashed across the opposite side of the canyon, smashing the tanks beneath its massive weight. The monster's hand raised up from below next and dug into the rock where another 2-M squad was positioned, crushing them all in his grip. The Imperials had now been lured into Alpha Predator One's trap.

"We need to get him off them!" Kamo shouted at Arch. "He's slaughtering the tank crews at that range!"

Arch was already loading another shell into the artillery piece before Kamo finished talking. He then looked up to the gunner.

"This one's danger close! Hit him on the nose!" Arch yelled at him. "Square between the nostrils!"

"I'll do one better," the Stormtrooper manning the weapon promised back. "I'll get one right up it!"

The gunner fired the shot and let the shell fly. It flew through the sky before plummeting back down. True to the gunner's promise it landed as close as was reasonably possible to where he said he'd put it. Alpha Predator One seemed to snuff and snort as the shell exploded on his nose. He wasn't sure it had gone up the nostril, but Kamo admired the shot nonetheless.

"Good aim, right on target," he reported to the gunners. "Do it again, force him off the canyon wall!"

"Yeah," Arch agreed, grabbing another shell to load up "He'll be picking plasma out of his nose for the next decade when we're through with him!"

As Arch loaded the shell, however, Kamo noticed something through his macrobinoculars. One of the Artillery Walkers was closing into range with the monster's head. It apparently had gotten a similar idea and was trying to hit Alpha Predator One in the nose to make him back off from what was left of the tanks near the edge. Moments later, the second artillery shot plummeted onto his head. An energy blast from the walker hit him in the aftermath. They were really laying into him.

The monster shook his head about and scratched at his scorched nasal passage for a moment and then, Kamo swore, the monster locked eyes with him right through the macrobinoculars. A red hot rage seemed to surge in the creature's yellow eyes. It was as if the beast's gaze was focused solely on Kamo, seeing him and only him as it stared back in utter contempt.

The battle itself suddenly vanished and all Kamo could soon see were those eyes. Those angry, vicious, murderous eyes, the likes of which he hadn't seen since the Clone Wars on the head clanker, General Grievous. He had only seen them in propaganda holovids the Seps transmitted on hijacked transmissions, but they felt so like his. The creature's gaze was permeated with violence and wrath, a desire to kill and destroy. It was almost as if the monster was saying 'I know that you hurt me. I know it was you. And now you'll die for it.'

Alpha Predator One broke the long murderous gaze at last and then looked back down towards the walker that was still shooting at him. Kamo wondered why the creature hadn't just fired its beam at him, but he didn't wonder long. The lizard grabbed the artillery walker in his jaws. Between its gigantic teeth, the reptile raised its enormous head up, reeled back and then released the captured walker. It tumbled through the air, end over end like a child's toy. Kamo didn't need to guess where it was headed and he knew that it would stop looking a kid's plaything the closer it got.

"Everyone! Evacuate!" He shouted aloud to any who could hear. "Get the hell out of here! RUN! Walker incoming!"

He pointed up to the tumbling little black dot that was approaching them and everyone instantly followed his lead. They jumped from their guns, abandoned their positions and made a mad dash for safety. Kamo grabbed Arch and pushed him in front of him. The two ran as fast as they could manage. When they got to a group of rocks, they both vaulted over them and ducked down into cover.

The walker collapsed onto the guns soon after. The artillery pieces were crushed under the massive metal weight of the walker and the shells faired o better. When detonated, the entire area was filled with exploding plasma and fire. Kamo kept Arch's head down as the blaze rocketed past them, along with several bits of debris.

When it was over, there wasn't a single gun left standing. Kamo could see the bodies of troopers who hadn't made it out of the blast radius in time nearby. Their armor was melted and scorched from the plasma blast, their corpses burned beyond recognition.

"Holy crap," Arch said as he and Kamo poked their heads up. "He just destroyed our entire artillery position! With one of our own walkers even!"

It was worse than Arch knew. That creature could've just fired his breath at anytime and got the same effect. It hadn't, probably because it was keeping that in reserve. Perhaps it used up power and it didn't want to waste it just yet. He could even just be toying with them, letting them forget he had it before he fired the damn beam and incinerated them all. He had a sneaking suspicion though that it was something else.

The creature's murderous glare had given it away. He wanted to hurt them, show them that he could rain down death from the sky with just as deadly precision as any of them. Worse yet, his method had been more effective. This wasn't a dumb animal like Agiri had thought, it was, as Kamo had suspected, something far worse. The old Clone Trooper had only now just realized that they had made a big mistake, one that would probably cost every Stormtrooper here their lives.

* * *

This had probably been the strangest plan Kanan had come up with, but Ezra would admit that not even the Imperials would see it coming. How could they when they were too busy getting their white-armored behinds handed to them by a rampaging reptile. Ezra almost felt sorry for them, almost. They should've just backed off instead of trying to engage the big grey lizard again. The fact it had destroyed most of their planetside TIEs was enough evidence of that. He couldn't think about the bantha fodder the bucketheads had just stepped in right now though, they had a job of their own.

"Alright, Chop, I think you're all set," he told the rusty droid as he pulled tightly on the chord one last time.

Chopper grumbled at the young boy angrily, expressing his distaste for this entire exercise even more. Zeb was quick to put him in his place once again.

"Would you relax?" He scolded the droid. "You're going to be fine. That cable is near as strong as my arm."

"Besides," Ezra reminded him. "You're the only one that can get close enough to shock one of those probes. The _Phantom_ is too big, they'll pick up it on sensors. But another droid flying around isn't going to get much attention until it's too late."

Chopper beeped and grumbled a series of sounds, filled with several expletives no one dared repeat. The gist of the response to Ezra was essentially 'Why don't you go fishing for them with yourself as the hook then?' but in a far less polite way.

"They'll pick up our lifesigns and heat signature as organics," Ezra said, repeating Kanan's words exactly. "You are more likely to be seen as just another probe droid. Besides, if something goes wrong you can fly. You have the jump jet after all."

Chopper's little arms sprung out of his head as he spouted off several angry beeps at Ezra faster than one could process.

"You are not going to fall into a war zone if you're careful," Zeb told him aggressively. "Now either you get ready to jump out or I'm going to throw you out, you little mouthy pile of bolts!"

Chopper grumbled something about the Droid Gottra and how maybe they had the right idea about organics and the like. Ezra just sighed and patted the surly droid on the head.

"Look, buddy, we're not going to let anything happen to you," he promised. "We'll be right up here, making sure nothing goes wrong. And we won't get you too close to the big ugly lizard currently making life hell for our Imperial friends."

Chopper let out a robotic 'grr' of acceptance and rolled over to the edge of _Phantom's_ shuttle door, muttering another series of beeps as he did.

"Yeah, yeah, extra oil bath and everything when we're done," Zeb promised, his hand waving about. "Honestly, this isn't the craziest thing we've asked of you."

"Alright," Ezra said, looking up to the cockpit. "We're good to go, Kanan."

Ezra's Jedi Master took up the control stick in his hand and grinned back at them.

"Let's go fishing then," he stated. "Scanners say we're right over a cluster of probes documenting the fight. We're out of range of their scanners, but we need to be quick. Good luck down there, Chop."

The droid gave another series of disgruntled beeps and then rolled off the side of the _Phantom's _open shuttle door with a guttural robotic scream. The cord he was attached to spun out of its reel from the belly of the _Phantom's_ exit at a frantic speed. Zeb kept his hand on the locking mechanism, waiting for Kanan's word. A mere minute later it came.

"Lock it!" Kanan yelled back.

Zeb pulled the lever and the reel stopped spinning. The chord went taught and began to swing about in the sky. Ezra looked out the window, several hundred feet down to where he could just make out Chopper swaying in mid air.

"Is he okay?" Called back to Kanan.

"His signal is coming through fine," Kanan assured his padawan. "I got it on the scope now."

Ezra walked back over to see how things were going from Chop's point of view. He saw the little droid was now in staring at several Imperial Probe Droids, all staring at the gigantic lizard still assaulting the Stormtroopers. Chopper had front row seats to all the action and was able to catch the enormous reptile stamping his hand into a column of Imperial Tanks like they were nothing but tin cans.

"They're really getting torn to shreds down there," Ezra spoke aloud, not really trying to hide his slight sense of sympathy for the Imps and their predicament.

"All the more reason to wrap this up quickly," Kanan replied, not taking anymore pleasure in the sight than Ezra was. "That megaton krayt dragon is going to mop them up eventually and he'll take the probe droids with him. All Chop has to do is snag one, so let's hope he can be inconspicuous."

Chopper swayed for a few more seconds, lining up his shot with one of the probe droids. When he thought he had him in his sights, the old astromech rocketed forward with his jump jet. Humming some kind of weird tune to himself as he did. Kanan just sighed as he listened over the monitors.

"I'm just remembering he doesn't do inconspicuous well," he said as he exhaled. "Now I feel really stupid."

"Now?" Zeb chortled from the back. "I thought this was pretty dumb from the start. I didn't say anything because I thought it would be funny."

"You are not helping," Kanan grumbled back.

Chopper did manage to close in on one of the probes, but for some reason it suddenly moved tot he left. Kanan was worried that it had spotted them, as was Ezra. They both gritted their teeth in fear that their plan had just been blown and that the Imperials were going to learn they were here any second.

Chopper in the meantime sailed past the probes and inched even closer to the giant reptile, getting a good view of it as it roared ferociously at the Stormtroopers below. Chopper quickly swung himself around, turning away from the creature and fired his thrusters to come at one of the probes from the side. The chord twisted and turned as Chopper blasted around to the side. Finally, he collided with one the Probes. He shocked it shortly after impact with electroshock prod and then grabbed at it with his little arms as it shorted out.

"He's got one!" Ezra shouted happily, shaking the back of Kanan's seat in delight.

"Zeb, pull him in, fast!" Kanan shouted. "We need to get it aboard and shut it down before it can turn back on and transmit!"

Zeb pulled the lever once more and Chopper began to ascend. To speed up his climb, Chopper blasted his jump jet and boosted back up into the _Phantom_ with his prize. He dropped the probe on the floor and began to spin his head around while whooping excitedly. Zeb quickly grabbed the still depowered probe and quickly found the off switch for it.

"Well, you actually pulled it off," Zeb said to Chopper. "Color me surprised."

Chopper poked one of his forearms into Zeb's chest, beeped a series of angry electronic sounds and rolled up to the cockpit.

"Yeah, next time I'm the bait," he huffed at the droid. "Like we're ever gonna do something like this again."

At least they now had their probe droid. All that they needed to do now was fix it up and make it work for them. They didn't need to stick around here for that though, which was fine by everyone involved.

"I'll contact Hera and let her know we're coming back in," Kanan said. "With any luck we'll be at the Orbital Gun by sundown and we can send in the droid to assess their defenses."

"Hopefully they haven't sent too many Troopers there by now," Ezra added.

The young Jedi briefly looked out the side cockpit window at the Stormtroopers below. The monster was still on the warpath, now using its tail to smash down on tanks along the Canyon ledge. Ezra could see smoke and fire rising from all along the ridge.

"Those guys probably won't be a problem at least," he stated with a sullen look on his face. "Kanan, is it wrong I feel little sad for them?"

"Jedi don't take pleasure in seeing things die," Kanan reminded him. "There's nothing wrong in feeling bad for a life ending."

"Yeah, but they're still the enemy," Ezra added. "It feels weird. Aren't we supposed to not feel bad about this?"

"It's something every Jedi has to reconcile," Kanan admitted. "The fact that our enemies are people too and we will probably be forced to kill them. It's the sad fact of any conflict."

Ezra had never thought of it like that, but he supposed it made sense. He did hate the Empire, for everything it did, but he did recall his time infiltrating the Academy on Lothal. Those kids there were mostly just normal people like he was. How many of the Stormtroopers they had fought against were once like that? He supposed in this case he could take solace in the fact it wasn't him doing any of the killing this time. He still felt weird though.

His eyes were soon drawn to the monster, as Kanan fired up the engines and got ready to leave. He wasn't sure, but as he looked at the creature he got a weird feeling. Kanan had described it before, anger, ferocious primal rage, seemed to emanate from the giant reptile. However, it didn't feel like hate, no not hate, but righteous fury. Like he had felt when he stood up to the Inquisitor on the Star Destroyer to help Kanan, or before then when he had made that speech through the hacked Imperial Communications Tower. That kind of anger, that's what Ezra felt, but he didn't understand why. What was motivating this big grey monster?

As the _Phantom_ turned to leave, Ezra finally got a hint to his answer, a trickle in The Force that resonated something beneath the fury and rage. Pain, deep, unrelenting pain. For something that happened, for something someone did? He didn't know. Ezra was sure of one thing though, this wasn't a random attack. This thing had an endgame of some kind. He didn't know what it ultimately was, but Ezra knew what the creature's current goal was; making the Troopers hurt. The big grey lizard was definitely doing a good job of that so far.

* * *

Insects, the lot of them, full of arrogance, pride and insolence. So much like the humans from home. They still thought themselves stronger even after everything. Unlike the humans he had fought before though, these ones had stronger weapons and they did hurt far worse than others. Godzilla knew he could withstand them, but he dared not do so for long. He found their most potent weapons in their arsenal and endeavored to render them useless. Without the huge guns launching their plasma into his nose, he had regained the initiative. Godzilla would now teach them a lesson in true pain and crush them beneath his might one at a time. Their pitiful tanks were nothing more than bits of tin to him.

That didn't seem to deter them from firing on him though. Godzilla took a barrage of missiles up along his back from a column of tanks moving up into the carnage. He could never tell whether the humans behind these war machines were brave, stupid or just mindless in general. They were indeed like a hive of insects, buzzing and crawling about in their little formations and carrying out their little strategies. As if whatever plans their hive mind, or whatever it was that drove them, would be enough. He'd reveal how great an error in judgment this was now. Godzilla's fins lit up bright blue and he fired a blast of his atomic breath. He held back its full power to retain energy, but even holding back the power of his nuclear blast was enough. The tanks went bright red and began to melt into molten slag, their crews included.

As he kept firing, a series of energy beams slammed into the side of his face, partially hitting his eye. Godzilla turned, snarling as the beams kept hitting and scorching his skin. It was one of their little walking guns, like the one he had picked up and thrown moments before. The stupid humans inside thought they could somehow fare better than them. So much confidence in their little toys, how sure their were of the power they could wield. They knew nothing of real power though, just in how they could abuse what little they had obtained. For that mistake their toy would now become their tomb.

Blocking the incoming beams from the little walker with his hand, Godzilla turned around and then swatted the tiny walker with the tip of his tail. Looking back over his shoulder, he watched the tiny metal machine roll sideways across the ground. Pieces of its gun and chassis snapped off, more of the little white-clad humans in its way were crushed beneath it. Eventually the vehicle came to stop when it smashed into a pile of large rocks. Flames rose up from the machine's belly, its useless little legs flopping to the side.

As Godzilla moved his head back to the front, a series of laser blasts struck him under the chin. Growling, he peered down on a single tank surrounded by more white-clad soldiers. This was getting tiresome, did they not see what their comrades had suffered? They should've just retreated by now as they did before. Did they just not care? Did they all have death wishes? If that was the case, he'd oblige them.

He raised a fist over the tank and the soldiers standing beside it. Then he dropped the fist down on all their heads and crushed them beneath it. Godzilla then dug his claws into the rock and slashed it across the canyon edge, churning up rock and earth. The upturned bits and pieces of the canyon's cliff rained back down on the soldiers below, burying them alive.

Godzilla turned back to the canyon trench ahead of him once again, just in time to see a true surprise. A column of tanks were moving up towards him along the canyon floor. They fired missiles and laser cannon blasts in repeated succession. The shots slammed into his chest and followed up towards his neck. When one missile hit him along the side of his head, Godzilla let loose a furious roar. Their weapons were indeed stronger, they did hurt him. Hurting him was a mistake.

He stomped forward through the canyon, stamping his foot down on one of the nearest tanks. He then raised his head up, swiveled it around as blue lights emanated from his fins. As atomic fire boiled in the back of his throat, Godzilla could see the tanks starting to back away from him. Only now, too late, did they understand. He let loose a full blast, stretching it from the front to the back of their column, obliterating one after the other as the beam cut through them. The tanks' turrets exploded off of them in little towers of flame, others were simply incinerated.

When it was over, the canyon floor was a sea of fire. Those beneath it who were not dead yet soon would be. Now the white-clad humans would know there was no defense, not against him, not against what he was. Godzilla turned towards his left and prepared to fire again. Blue energy burned and broiled through his teeth and then he released it in a massive beam that set the canyon edge ablaze with a wall of fire. Several more tanks, walking guns and white-clad soldiers just melted away.

Godzilla prepared to fire another blast along the opposite side of the canyon. They would learn. He'd turn this whole arid rocky desert into glass if he had to. Force was the only thing the human respected and understood. And these humans would respect him, or die.

* * *

Everything had gone wrong faster than even Kamo had predicted they would. This wasn't a battle, this was slaughter. Even the fighting on Felucia in the Clone Wars was never this bad, at least there they could hide behind the giant multi-colored trees. That and none of the Clankers were three hundred and fifty feet high and spewing fire. They weren't going to win this fight, Kamo knew that now for sure. He wasn't about to run away though, not with good men still dying on the field.

With no guns left to man, Kamo sprung into action with the surviving artillery men. Somehow they managed to make their way through the devastation to locate a few Speeder Bikes near the back of the lines. They all took the steering wheels and started the bikes up, racing them back towards the front. They weren't heading in to fight Alpha Predator One though, they were looking for wounded.

"There's a 2-M in Section Two near the rock formation," he shouted on the radio as Arch drove them through the fiery debris. "Could be survivors, get someone over there if you can."

"_We're close to it, sir," _came a response. _"We'll check on it and report back."_

"_Officer Kamo," _another team suddenly reported in. _"We found some troopers alive! They got trapped under an 2-M strut that crashed down on their position when it exploded. We're getting them out now."_

"Good," Kamo replied. "Get them out of here fast as you can. Me and Arch are going to see about an SPMA that got tossed into some rocks up ahead."

Arch stopped the speeder just a few feet away from the downed artillery walker. With the monster's rampage still ongoing in the background, they clambered onto the belly of the upside down vehicle. This would've been easier if these things had proper cockpit windows, but things weren't completely hopeless. All walkers, no matter how big or small, had an escape hatch below the chassis. They just needed to find it. Luckily, Arch had a keen eye.

"I got the hatch here, sir," Arch said banging on the metal stomach of the walker.

Kamo walked over and saw the outline of the hatch. The mechanism appeared jammed, but that wasn't going to keep him out. He told Arch to stand back as he raised his blaster rifle to the locking mechanism. He stomped a few times with his foot on the hatch, hoping anyone nearby would hear and stand back. The metal was too thick for his voice to carry through. In a blaze of red blaster bolts, the lock was blown away and Arch forced open the heavy steel door. Inside they found two troopers, still alive, staring up at them.

"Anyone else in there?" Arch called down.

"Just our driver," one responded. "But he's stuck in the cockpit! We need a cutting torch to get him out."

Kamo had thankfully packed a cutting torch from the emergency supplies they found near the speeder bikes. He passed it over to Arch and ushered him down into the walker.

"Cut the driver out," Kamo ordered the Private. "I'll help them up."

Arch jumped down into the vehicle while Kamo reached his arm down to help the trapped Troopers out of the vehicle. As he did he got a report back from one of the rescue teams.

"_Found a survivor, sir. He's unconscious but alive."_

"Good, get him back to Command," Kamo ordered. "We're bringing in three survivors ourselves."

As the two trapped Troopers finally got out, Kamo looked towards the enemy for a moment. The super-sized reptile was still trashing what little remained of their attack force. However, he seemed more focused on the opposite side of the canyon for now. Nothing he could do for the soldiers stuck over there. He had to keep focused on what he could do here. However, that quickly became a lot more difficult.

"_Officer Kamo, where are you?"_

Agiri, great, what did he want? Reluctantly, Kamo answered the transmission in the most respectable manner he could muster. Although he really didn't feel like being all the respectable right now.

"Lieutenant Commander, I'm currently in the thick of it right now," he explained. "I'm trying to find survivors in the wreckage with what's left of the artillery team."

"_Well at least I've finally managed to get through all this chaos on the airwaves," _Agiri growled. _"I take it the stationary artillery cannons are all gone then?_

They haven't been firing for the past ten minutes so yes they're all gone, he wanted to say. He also wanted to add to that 'I'm alive and uninjured by the way, thank you for asking' in the most brazenly sarcastic way imaginable. Kamo's filter was in full effect though, so he went with what Agiri expected.

"Alpha Predator One completely destroyed the position, sir," he explained. "We only have a squad and half left of men now. We're doing our best to find survivors."

"_And who exactly authorized this rescue operation of yours?" _Agiri questioned sternly.

Was he really upset about what Kamo suspected he was about to get chewed out for? He didn't realize he needed to clear it with Command to help save soldiers. Again though, Kamo just sucked it up and responded how he was supposed to, how he had been trained to.

"I took it upon myself to coordinate the effort," he informed Agiri. "We've found several men alive so far."

"_I don't care," _Agiri shouted back. _"You are a Communications Officer, you relay orders, you do not issue them of your own accord! Get those men you've commandeered back here, now! I want all infantry off the field! We're going to send every vehicle we have left in a concentrated assault while the creature's back is turned! We're going to fire everything we have at him!"_

Kamo was almost out of respectability now, but he did his best to put up a decent front.

"Sir, I don't believe that will work," Kamo reported. "The monster's hide is too thick and those fins of his provide extra protection. We need to fall back and conserve what forces we have left."

"_I am not about to take a lesson in strategy from an aging lab experiment!" _Agiri yelled back in a rage. _"Return those men to my command and clear the field for the assault now! I have every tank and gun left on the other side of the canyon distracting Alpha Predator One! I need to attack now before they're exhausted! So clear the field at once!"_

Kamo shut the radio off. He wasn't going to abandon the rescue efforts just so Agiri could send more good soldiers to die pointlessly. He had to stop the attack, but he couldn't think of any way to do that. Save for one, Agiri wouldn't send the rest of the tanks and walkers in if Alpha Predator One decided to return his attention back to this side of the canyon. He knew the monster hated the artillery weapons most, but there were practically none left on the field he could use to get the lizard's attention. Even the one he was currently standing on was in no shape to start firing again.

Arch came back up a few seconds later, hoisting up an injured SPMA driver through the hatch. Kamo helped get him out and passed him down to his two crewmates waiting below. Arch managed to climb out of the overturned walker by himself.

"Where next, sir?" He asked. "We bringing these three back to the medics?"

"Yeah, along with everyone else," Kamo replied with a grave tone. "Agiri wants the field cleared so he can launch a full-scale assault while our big friend is distracted."

"What? That's crazy!" Arch shouted in shock. "That's just gonna add to the body count at this point!"

"I tried to tell him that and he didn't listen," he informed the private, shaking his head. "We need to find a way to get that thing's attention. If it turns away from Agiri's distraction, he'll be forced to call off the attack."

He pointed to Arch's macrobinoculars and the Scout Trooper handed them over. Kamo scanned the battlefield in front of him, trying to find something they could use. Through sheer luck he spotted something, a badly damaged SPMA with a great big hole in its side. Probably caused during one of the creature's tail or claw swipes. However, what mattered to Kamo was that its gun was still intact. He pointed it out to Arch.

"There, we can use that thing's gun to get his attention!" He told the Private.

"Okay, but are you sure about this," Arch asked hesitantly. "I mean, Agiri ain't gonna like you spoiling his plan."

"He doesn't like me already," Kamo reminded him sternly. "All I care about is making sure we don't lose more people to this meat grinder. You know as well as I do that we've already lost this fight. We need to save what we can or we'll never take this thing down. Are you with me, Arch?"

There was barely even a hint of hesitation in Arch. He stood up, balling one of his fists as he did.

"I'm with you," he swore. "Just tell me what to do."

"Call in one of the bikes nearby, we'll have them pick them up," Kamo said, pointing to the rescued crew below them on the ground. "Then, we're going to get to that damaged walker and get that monster's eyes back on us again."

Arch followed Kamo's orders to the letter, calling in a nearby speeder group to help get their survivors out of here. Kamo then called up the rest of the bikers and told them to clear the area, if only to make sure they wouldn't get caught when the monster's rage turned back to their side of the canyon. Mostly though it was to give the illusion he was following Agiri's orders. By the time the Lieutenant Commander figured out what was happening, it would be too late.

They drove up to the damaged SPMA walker in a matter of minutes. Alpha Predator One was still attacking the forces on the opposite side of the canyon. Given how quickly it had made scrap out of their side's forces, Kamo didn't think they'd last much longer. Agiri would be launching his attack any moment. If they had any chance of stopping it they'd have to fire up the gun now.

Arch rushed inside the torn open vehicle and took up the targeting controls. The artillery gun extended from the vehicle as it rose up into the sky. Kamo stayed on the gun's sensory terminal, it was badly damaged but still functional. He attempted to direct Arch's aim towards the most sensitive spot on the creature he could identify from this position, right behind the temple.

"Increase the energy dial to full power," Kamo suggested. "We need to get him focused on us within the first few shots."

"I got it as high as it can go," Arch replied. "Hopefully the power cell isn't cracked or we're going up with it."

"We'll be fine," Kamo assured. "The real problem comes when he spots us."

Arch fired the gun and sent a pulsing beam right into the back of creature's head. The monster's rampage suddenly stopped and he turned slowly back around to star down at the damaged walker. His mouth opened slightly as blue fire started pooling in his mouth. Kamo's stomach tightened, there was no way they could run fast enough to get away from that. Unless they tried something desperate, wouldn't be the first time to today though. Kamo's brain started working overtime and he came upon an idea.

"Arch, shoot at the mouth just as he's about to fire!" He shouted.

Arch quickly nodded at Kamo's order, instantly understanding the plan. He re-targeted, using the big blue ball of flame welling in the back of the creature's throat as a bullseye. When he fired once more, a powerful beam of energy raced out of the artillery gun and collided with the blue light forming in the monster's maw. There was a terrible explosion as the creature's blast backfired, part of it spewing out of the side of his mouth and rest erupting within.

Alpha Predator One roared in pain and anguish as it stumbled backwards, slamming into the canyon wall behind him. Smoke billowed up from his jaws as his giant hands scrambled at his inflamed snout. Arch and Kamo ran out to get a good look at what had happened, surprised the blast hadn't blown the creature's own head off. It looked like they had at least taken him down a peg, but the grim reality soon came back.

Alpha Predator One forced himself off the canyon wall he had crashed into and back onto his feet. With smoke still pouring from his mouth and nostrils, the giant lizard raised both of his fists in the air and singled out the damaged SPMA. Arch and Kamo started slowly backing up before breaking into a sprint. The two powerful fists soon crashed down on top of their position. They had barely managed to just escape the crushing weight of the monster's claws.

The shockwave they could not avoid, however, and both slammed head first into the rocks as they were thrown back. Arch got pushed up against a rock, but luckily didn't crash into it head first. He was hurt, but at least his neck hadn't been snapped. Kamo managed to roll with the wave better and got to his feet quickly. He raced back towards the fist, firing his blaster as he did.

This is stupid, he thought, really stupid. This thing had killed a lot of good soldiers though and at least one good friend. He had hurt it badly just now, him and Arch. Kamo didn't feel like letting up now, not while it was hurting. He raced to the still enclosed reptilian fists and grabbed onto one of the scales. He began firing into the hand at point blank range while he held on. The laser bolts seemed to scorch the skin a bit, but not by much. This was little more than a big bite to him, nothing. Kamo now instantly regretted this pretty foolhardy little attack of his.

Suddenly the fist started rising into the air. Kamo wasn't sure if the monster had noticed him or if he was just raising his arm back up. Either way, Kamo didn't feel like sticking around to find out. The Clone Trooper fired one last time as he prepared to jump back down off the hand. That was when he heard something crack and he slipped off. He landed with a thud on the ground, his armor now covered in dirt. He looked and saw his hand was still clutching a piece of the monster's scale. Perhaps all that shooting had done some damage after all.

The creature now turned back towards where the majority of the fire was coming from. However, he didn't go back to fighting them tooth and nail. Instead, he used the gash his body had created in the canyon wall as a step ladder to get out of the canyon. He scrambled over the rock and onto the ledge, standing at his full height over all once more. He started stomping through what was left of the tanks and mobile artillery, moving away from the canyon altogether.

Kamo supposed he couldn't blame the lizard from leaving, the creature had to know it had won. He had broken their defenses and there was nothing left to preoccupy him in the slightest. The monster just walked away from the battle with no real injuries of note. Not even the artillery shot that had hit him in the mouth and caused his breath to backfire moments before seemed to register with him anymore. They had thrown whole columns of tanks and heavy guns at this thing, yet to him it was nothing. All they had to show for their efforts were a lot of dead men, broken equipment and a piece of giant dewback scale.

Arch eventually rushed over to help Kamo up and they both watched the giant grey reptile lumber away. Arch eventually noticed the scale within Kamo's hand.

"You ripped that off him?" He asked.

"Yeah, guess I did," Kamo nodded. "At least we managed to break something off."

"And we know a weakness," Arch added. "We hit him in the mouth next time, not the eyes. Bigger target, less armor."

That sounded like a good idea to Kamo, but it would have to get past one person in particular. Speaking of whom, Kamo just now spotted him. Agiri was racing towards them, riding on the strut of a 2-M tank. Kamo gave him credit, he half expected him to show up in a fancy landspeeder. Didn't mean Kamo suddenly liked the prospect of getting chewed out by the womp rat though. Agiri jumped off the strut and approached Kamo and Arch now, his face boiling with anger.

"Are you suffering from cell degeneration,Clone?" He rhetorically demanded. "I gave you specific orders and your disobeyed them! I had the tanks ready to get underway and your little hero stunt ruined everything! Not only did we lose our chance to catch him with his back turned, but you gave Alpha Predator One a means of escape! You just cost us our one chance to end that monster quickly and efficiently! What possessed you to disobey my direct orders?"

"With respect, sir," Kamo began astutely. "I followed your orders. You told me to send the men back to your command and clear the field. I did. I acted within my own judgment from there and I decided that we needed a better plan. I believed using the creature's own weapon against it could be more effective than a full on assault."

"So you decided to play hero then?" Agiri asked haughtily. "Well look how that turned out, Clone. We lost the objective! He's now stomping off to who knows where! Probably to another Imperial instalation to demolish it!"

"To be direct, sir," Kamo continued. "We had already lost this fight once it destroyed most of heavy vehicles. I think it is clear we need far bigger weapons than just tanks."

Agiri moved up into Kamo's face, his glower growing ever wider. The Lieutenant Commander's eyes glared angrily through the helmet's visor at the old clone.

"I will decide what our strategy is and what we need," he declared. "You do not make decisions, period."

He prodded Kamo in the chest with his fingertip, but the Clone refused to back down. It was Arch who finally broke the tension between the two.

"Sir, Officer Kamo recovered a piece of the creature's hide," he explained.

The Scout Trooper forced Kamo's hand up into Agiri's field of vision.

"We can use this," the Scout Trooper insisted. "We just need to send it down to the scientists in that big old lab."

Agiri eyed the scale for a moment longer and then took it from Kamo's hands.

"Very well, I suppose we can snatch a victory from this defeat with any luck," he relented, still sounding threatening as he did. "But trust me, Clone, this insubordination will not stand. I will see to both of these matters personally. Do not attempt to undermine me again. Dismissed."

Agiri walked away, heading back to the tank. Arch breathed a sigh of relief as he left. Kamo just kept staring. Once again his thoughts drifted back to the Jedi and how they commanded their soldiers. Regardless of their faults, at that moment Kamo felt he would give anything to have any Jedi here instead of Agiri. It was the first time in a long time that he had ever wished a Jedi was leading him. They weren't here though, this wasn't the Republic anymore, it was the Empire. And this was just how the Empire treated its soldiers. But he kept that thought buried inside, where no one could hear, see or even sense it.

However, when Agiri had left, the other soldiers that had followed him gathered around the old Clone. The Stormtroopers started patting him on the back, complimenting him and Arch for what they did. Not just for hurting Alpha Predator One, but for helping to save so many of their comrades. There was a lot of praise to go around and it didn't stop when Kamo and Arch started heading back with them to regroup with everyone else. A few even started chanting his name for a bit during the walk back, only briefly though. Kamo then thought that maybe, just maybe, a little of the Old Republic was still alive after all.

* * *

They had hurt him, badly. He would recover, but it didn't matter. They had hurt him. The worthless little insects had hurt him. With his own power no less! How dare they. Their kind had no right, no right at all. They had already done more than enough to him. More than they could ever realize.

As Godzilla stomped away though, he did not feel hate for the white-clad humans. No, he felt pity for them, as he knew how much they would suffer for this insult. He could already feel a great power residing in the mountains beyond. He could feel its energy resonating in the very air. That would be where he'd strike next.

They still believed they had power, that the small victory of sorts they had earned in the middle of a crushing defeat somehow vindicated them no doubt. He'd show them how wrong they were. How easy it was for that power to be stripped away. Then they'd know pain, greater than anything they had ever inflicted on him.

Break their toys, the monuments to their egos, the symbols of their dominion and they would crumble, they always did. These humans would be no different. Let them think they knew a weakness, a method to exploit. It would make no difference, they would still be crushed. True power did not come from weapons, technology or even strength. It came from will and his will would prove stronger in the end. It always had. For unlike the human, he had nothing so material to lose.

* * *

AN: Please do review, and if you are curious as to some of my thoughts for this chapter check out the update on the profile page under the Imperial Emergency Broadcast announcement. It should give you some better insight into some of my ideas for the story. Thank you for reading and good luck on finding those Easter Eggs I've hidden.


	5. Prayers by Night

Chapter 4: Prayers by Night

Ahsoka Tano wasn't new to the role of a battle commander, she had grown up in a time of conflict after all. What made it different from then was the feeling of isolation, the feeling of being alone. These days she felt more alone than ever. When she was a Jedi, she could take comfort in the fact that she had fellow comrades in arms. People who she felt knew her, understood her and who she could call friends without hesitation. Now, as she walked through the hangar of her Command Ship, she was reminded how much had changed. She wasn't leading Republic Soldiers anymore, she was commanding rebellious misfits. People from across the Outer Rim who had various reasons for striking back against the Empire. She was the only person with Force Sensitive powers among these soldiers, the only one who really knew what the Jedi were truly like.

She supposed she had no one to really blame for a lot of that save for herself. She had made her decision and it had both benefited and cost her much. She had long grown to accept that, but it didn't take away the sense of loss. Even though her departure from the Order was under less than pleasant circumstances, she didn't hold her former Jedi Masters at fault. Was she still disappointed in them? Of course, how couldn't she be? That didn't mean she still didn't think back to them fondly now and then.

But when she did, all she could think about was what had happened. She thought of Master Plo Koon being shot down by his beloved Wolf Squadron. Luminara dying in Imperial captivity, slaughtered like an animal. The younglings she had trained... no she didn't want to think of that. And Anakin, she really didn't want to think of that. Not after what had happened at Lothal, not after what she sensed, what she suspected.

Ahsoka supposed they should've seen this coming, the clues were there. No one bothered to look carefully enough, not even her. The Council had admitted it themselves, the war had clouded their vision, the dark side had taken hold within The Force. In the years that followed, Ahsoka had thought long and hard about what they did wrong, what she did wrong, and how this had happened. It wasn't too hard to piece together in hindsight, especially with a little help from friends of hers.

The main crux of it was this, they had compromised too much. The Jedi had let themselves be pushed to the side, giving more power to the military, letting others fight their battles. People like Tarkin, who fought wars for his own reasons, not to help others in need. At the same time they had allowed themselves to be swallowed up by the culture of war. They became the heads of armies, led them into battle and it changed them without them even knowing. Not corrupted, but changed. They weren't peacekeepers anymore, though they tried desperately to retain that title. Ultimately, they had been fighting for the wrong reasons.

The chief wrong reason of course being Palpatine. They fought for him, protected his government, did his dirty work for him. At the same time, he had built up a military structure that the Jedi commanded in theory, but was answerable only to him in practice. It was clear to Ahsoka now that he had been the Sith Lord the Jedi Council had been so concerned about. He ordered Dooku's Separatist Alliance around while he played the kindly champion of democracy, the perfect plan for a Master Sith. He could keep the conflict going as long as he wanted until the Jedi were weak enough to destroy. There was no other answer in Ahsoka's mind.

Who else but a Sith Lord would so callously call for the execution of all Jedi. An order that, as she later learned, every Clone in the military had been conditioned to follow without them even knowing. Who else would turn the Republic into an Empire? Who else would turn the Jedi Temple into his new palace, as if it were a trophy. They had been fooled, plain and simple.

She saved herself by leaving, but she couldn't save the Jedi. The day she heard of the attack on the Jedi Temple, when the Clones she had fought beside for so long had turned on the Order, her heart sank. She had felt ill, mentally and physically. She hated herself for awhile, feeling she had cheated death. Then she picked herself up and decided that giving in to despair was not her way. The Jedi were gone, but she was still alive and she could still make a difference.

She wondered if Kanan and Ezra could ever truly understand the why though. Why had she left what was pretty much her life? She didn't expect them to. The thing was though, the entire experience had opened her eyes to some rather disturbing things. Her greatest enemy had been her best ally in that time. A Council of men and women she respected had turned her back on her. A Republic she defended was ready to execute her. A friend she cared for and trusted, who's life she saved twice, had framed her to achieve her own agenda. The greatest Jedi in the galaxy had been unable to tell she was innocent, admitting even their judgment had been clouded. Nothing had felt right anymore.

Even after they apologized and admitted they were wrong, she couldn't go back. The words just came out and when they did she just knew it was what she wanted. She decided to leave, that she was done and that she couldn't stay. Was she sure it was a good idea at the time? No. But it felt like the only real choice she had. Just as before when she decided to fight back against the Empire. Even now, she didn't regret it.

It was why she didn't feel she had anything to teach Kanan. He never left the Order, it was taken from him. As for Ezra, he had a master now, one that believed in something that she had abandoned. What did she have to offer either of them? She didn't know. Hera seemed to think she did, but she was always an idealist first. Ahsoka had to be realistic.

She had given up a life that Kanan was trying to bring back through Ezra. What right did she have to become a teacher to either of them given her past? Would they even want her? Maybe Ezra, but not Kanan. She could tell he wasn't comfortable with her, with this larger rebellion thing. In time perhaps he would, but not now.

The Command Ship was similar to the one she had been on during the Lothal mission, before it was lost. Finding pilots to fill it was difficult, but she managed to locate a number willing to take on this dangerous mission. She mainly looked for people who seemed a bit crazy, but at least competent enough that she wouldn't need to worry about them going AWOL during a fight.

The crazy part was mostly because they were the only people who would probably want this mission. They were thrill seekers, the hot shots with something to prove. That of course meant a number of them were oddballs, none more so than one particular group she had decided to oversee personally.

In the middle of the hangar sat a few familiar aircraft sporting very different yellow and orange paint schemes. ARC-170s, Ahsoka had seen plenty of these fighters during her years fighting the Clone Wars. Back then they were some of the best starfighters around, but they were quickly replaced by the cheaper TIEs soon after.

These ones were heavily modified though, in fact Ahsoka hazarded to guess that all of the starfighters in front of her were complete custom jobs. Some of the components looked to have been stripped from other ARCs in order to replace lost or damaged parts. The guns strapped onto the wings were of a more modern design, probably packing a bigger punch and faster firing rate. The engines were upgraded as well, capable of greater speeds than the original factory-built ones from the originals no doubt. All in all, the people who repaired these old fighters had invested a lot of time and money into them.

Said person was standing in front of Ahsoka just a few feet away, wearing a golden orange flight suit with black sleeves and white leggings. Over her head was an old fighter's helmet, also white with a black strip down the middle, with a pair of bright blue tinted goggles strapped to it. The helmet hid the woman's red hair, but only just as it poked out in a pony tail near the bottom. The woman quickly turned and threw a rather sarcastic salute at Ahsoka as she approached.

"Hey there, Commander," she greeted casually. "Here to tell us we're off the leash?"

"I'm just here to make a formal inspection of things, Moira," Ahsoka explained simply.

"Want to be sure you're getting your money's worth, huh?" The woman asked in retur. "You don't need to worry, Ms. Tano. Moira's Raiders is the best damn pirate gang in the Outer Rim. Just point us at the Imps and you'll be planetside in no time."

Moira's Raiders had made quite a name for themselves over the years. They weren't the most infamous or deadliest of freelance fighter squadrons out there, but they were the most brazen by far. They had jumped more Imperial Convoys in a few months than most pirates did in years. They were fairly successful at it too, never sticking around in one place for long. They had been using an old Separatist Alliance Cruiser to host their slowly growing fleet of starfighters and bombers. In fact, a lot of their equipment was scavenged old ships that they had ruthlessly upgraded and jury rigged to match against the Empire's TIEs.

However, they had to leave behind their floating home in space for this mission. Their raids were getting noticed and their cruiser was currently sitting in a secret Rebel repair dock. It had gotten into a scrap with a Star Destroyer and had barely gotten away. Ahsoka came to them with the Tsuburonda job only a day later. Repairing their cruiser was a part of the contract, as was a hefty sum of credits and upgraded starfighter parts. Moira Thal, the Raiders' leader, drove a hard bargain to be sure. In all honesty though, Ahsoka needed every experienced pilot she could convince to come on this little endeavor of hers. So really it was worthy the higher price, especially with Moira's track record, which was impressive given what she was flying around in.

"Sixty One confirmed Imperial kills over the last year," Ahsoka said, recalling Moira's dossier. "I have to say I'm a bit surprised given your choice of craft."

"Well it's been a slow year," Moira shrugged nonchalantly, a self-assured tone in her voice. "I'd have gotten more, but our motto is to snatch, grab and hyper out before the Imps can do anything. To be honest though, TIE pilots aren't exactly expert fighters, they're trained to rely on numbers not on skill. And those who are any good are stuck inside a flying metal death trap. You shoot one down in space the pilot ain't coming back, period. Makes me think they should've kept the V-Wings around longer, those ships would've been more of a challenge."

Moira was very certain of her skills and abilities. Her background did state she grew up in the Corellian system, maybe that was just common for her people. Ahsoka looked away from the pilot and towards her starfighter, colored in gold, orange and red paint as well as her gang's symbol, a Corellian Butterfly dive bombing from above, its stinger out and ready to strike.

"Why an ARC-170?" Ahsoka asked, she didn't need to ask why she picked a bug as her insignia. Corellian Butterflies were far from the most docile of creatures. "It's a rather old starfighter by today's standards."

"Old but effective," Moira argued. "This grandma's design is near perfect for any dogfight. It's swift, it turns fast and it hits hard. All it needs is some upgrades, specifically the kinds we made so it only needs one pilot. Hell, I bet if you guys tried to mass produce a ship that looked like an ARC, you'd have the TIEs running scared. The only problem is finding the right parts to repair them when they get damaged. Going through Incom is risky, they still make the parts and don't ask many questions, but the Empire does. Easier to just scrounge around in abandoned Republic bases and blackmarket suppliers."

Ahsoka knew Incom, the corporation was a huge arms suppliers. From what her sources said they weren't really fans of the Empire, but weren't interested in rebellion. Not yet anyway. They were still someone to consider as a potential future ally. Moira was right about one thing, getting an arms supplier to make them starfighters would certainly even the odds.

"Alright, you like the classics, I can accept that," Ahsoka relented. "But how exactly did you get so good at shooting down Imperials anyway? Your file stated you used to be a bartender."

"I ran a bar for pilots that my dad owned," Moira was quick to correct her. "He was the squadron leader for Corellia's Airborne Militia. They protected the system from pirates and other criminals who all thought they were hot shots in the air. My dad even shot a few Seppy fighters during the Clone Wars when their fleets started eyeing our system. The militia was part of the reason the droids never managed to invade us. Everything I know, I learned from my dad. You can't run a bar for starfighter pilots if you aren't a crack flyer yourself."

"I suppose not," Ahsoka concurred.

Moira didn't run that bar anymore now though, as her dossier detailed in full. When the Empire took over they hadn't wasted much time in setting up shop on Corellia. After a few years, they shut down Moira's bar citing it as a gathering place for 'reprobates' and 'criminals'. In its place they set up a Imperial Security Checkpoint. Her life stolen from her, Moira decided that if they wanted to treat her like a criminal then she'd become one. She found an old fighter, recruited like-minded individuals and set about making trouble for the Empire.

However, just because her dossier and background proved she was no friend of the Empire though, it didn't mean Moira believed in taking it down. She was in this for no other reason than jabbing a thumb in the eye socket of any Palpatine stooge who was nearby. She had said as much when Ahsoka first recruited her for this mission. It was a shame, despite her bravado Ahsoka honestly believed they could use more pilots like Moira. They needed people with experience, people who could teach that experience to others if possible. They needed leaders for this fight. However, every leader was only as good as those who followed her.

"Perhaps you could introduce me to your squadron now," she asked the plot. "I only ever really spoke to you over the holo-transmission."

"Sure thing, Commander," Moira grinned back. "That way everyone will know who to put in the history books. They're over here, follow me."

Moira led Ahsoka around her ARC-170, revealing a small table behind it. Sitting around it were three other pilots, none of them what Ahsoka expected. There was an Ithorian wearing brown flight gear, similar to a jacket, but with some added armor plates along the arms. He was wearing goggles as well, although these ones had clear glass. Next to him, a Jawa. Rare to see them off of Tatooine. This one had a series of bandoleers stretched over his shoulders along with a blaster pistol in a holster on his hip. The little hooded fellow certainly seemed to be loaded. There was a Red Nikto, partially dressed in the traditional hunter garb of his people. However he was wearing a pilot's helmet over his head, the respirator was currently hanging off from the side, allowing Ahsoka to see his face.

However, the oddest edition was one yellowish green bipedal reptilian with a small mohawk of feathers cresting along his head and spiky horn bits jutting out along the sides. His red eyes seemed to lock onto Ahsoka's immediately, his tongue flicking out as he did. A Trandoshan, fighting on their side against the Empire. Ahsoka had to resist the urge to act defensively. She had known a lot of Trandoshans, none of her experiences had been good. Now here was one staring her in the face and supposedly helping her. If nothing else, her interest had been re-ignited once again. She really wanted to hear Moira's story behind this little squadron of hers.

"Raiders, meet our employer," Moira said, introducing the Togruta to the team. "Commander Tano here is paying us in parts and fixing up our home. So do be on your best behavior boys. Commander, these are my wingmen. The Ithorian is Anglyph, our go-to dive bomber. He leads our Y-Wing group. The little yellow eyed one beside him is Baraz Gonza, our munitions tech. He also flies as Anglyph's gunner. The Nikto with the helmet is Ro'das, he's what we call out aggro. Goes for the enemy's throat and gets them off the bombers and us so we can finish them off."

Moira then stepped over and slapped the Trandoshan's shoulder.

"And the big lizard here is my second, Gorossk," she declared proudly, the Trandoshan flicking his tongue out again. "Runs interception duty on the bigger targets most of the time. You know his people, always out for bigger prey."

"I do know his people," Ahsoka replied, trying her best to not to reveal discomfort. She probably wasn't doing a good job of it though.

Gorossk just snorted slightly at her, but not in a defensive way. It was more of bored and familiar snort, as if he had heard similar responses before.

"I thought you Rebel types were open to anyone who wanted to lend a blaster to the cause," he stated, the familiar sound of his species' hissing speech filling the air as he did. "What? Trandoshans not allowed to hate the Empire now?"

"No, it's just rare to find one that does," Ahsoka explained rather coldly.

Maybe she was being unfair in her response, this Trandoshan had never hurt her personally. But after being hunted down by a whole gang of these lizard people, nearly dying on several occasions just to fill a spot on their wall, Ahsoka didn't really care. She wasn't much of a fan of these particular aliens. As a Jedi she would've been taught to let go of grudges. To an extent she understood that and didn't want to hold animosity towards a potential ally. On the other hand, she wasn't a Jedi anymore. She looked to Moira to ease her concerns, hoping for some kind of explanation.

"This isn't exactly an orthodox group you have here," she told the pilot.

"Way I hear it, that's par for the course with you Rebel Cells," Moira replied. "What matters is they're all good pilots and none of us are fans of wrinkle-face Palpatine."

"I'd still prefer some insight into this," Ahsoka informed her. "How exactly did you end up recruiting them all?"

Moira's grin finally gave way to a more stoic look. Apparently, this subject was a bit touchy.

"Same as most people, the Empire screwed us," she answered sternly. "Anglyph was a farmer who got booted off his land because it was on a natural gas pocket. He got them back by blowing up their extraction plant over the site and ended up with an Imperial bounty on his head. Ro'das' village got used for target practice by a flight of TIE bombers. He teamed up with me to get some revenge. And Gorossk, well, he used to lead a hunting party until they decided to stab him in the back... literally."

"Didn't want to hunt Wookiees for Imperial slave work," Gorossk explained, his voice hissing in disgust at the memory. "No real honor in that, it's disrespectful of the prey and turns the hunter into a lowly thug. You kill or you get killed, end of story. That's what a real hunt is. The Clan only thought of the credits though, not principles. Ambushed me and left me for dead in the forest with a blade in my shoulder and my guts bleeding out."

"How'd you survive that one?" Ahsoka asked inquisitively.

"Would you believe the Wookiees?" The lizard-man asked in kind, a smile appearing on his face as he did. "One of their patrols found me half dead and for whatever reason decided to keep me from dying. Took a full month to recover and I decided to never hunt a Wookie again when it was over. Moira helped me hunt down my old Clan. Now... I hunt Imps. Far more satisfying than Wookiees any day."

He sounded pretty sincere about that, no matter how odd it sounded coming from a Trandoshan. She knew better than to assume everyone from a certain species acted and felt the same, but it was still bizarre. Trandoshans prided themselves as great hunters, their culture almost revolved around it. To hear about one giving up on hunting a specific species, let alone Wookiees, was strange.

"You're telling me you swore off hunting Wookiees because they saved you?" She asked skeptically. "Not to insinuate Trandoshans are incapable of honor, but help me understand how you got to that point."

"I respected my prey more than others," Gorossk explained plainly. "Every Wookie Hunt always proved costly. They were great fighters, tough to bring down. My Clan felt we'd have an easier time of it if we went after women and children more, but I told them no. We only ever hunted warriors, the most skilled among their tribes. A hunt should be a challenge, it should test your skills. You don't prove your strength by killing the weak, I told my hunting brothers. Obviously, they didn't agree"

Ahsoka raised her eye brow, almost impressed by the lizard's words.

"That almost sounds like a Jedi saying," she noted. "Refusing to exploit those weaker than you, I mean."

"It's just simple logic," Gorossk elaborated. "You don't prove yourself a hunter by picking easy prey. Real hunters go after big game, things that are predators themselves, things that can swallow you whole or rip you to shreds. My Clan only cared about the money we could get from becoming slavers, not in challenging themselves or the purity of the hunt itself. In the end, the Wookiees I hunted for years proved themselves better friends than my traitorous hunting brothers."

"Gorossk here is a regular Trandoshan progressive," Moira finally chimed in. "To him, hunting on the Empire's credits ruins the whole point. That and focusing on the Wookiees because of thousand year old grudges is a waste of time. Especially when there's a whole galaxy of vicious monsters out there to kill."

"In any case, the Empire has better weapons, better gear, better training," Gorossk explained, flashing a toothy grin as he spoke. "Hunting them is a far greater challenge than any Wookie. It also doesn't hurt that they deserve it more either. Joining Moira opened my eyes to a whole galaxy and something far greater than any Wookie Hunt could ever be."

It was the closest to a sense of moral high ground she could expect from a Trandoshan. Ahsoka supposed she owed him the benefit of the doubt then. After all, if her last days as a Jedi had taught her anything it was that former enemies could be great allies given the chance. However, Moira hadn't filled her in on their last member.

"What about your Jawa friend?" She asked. "I supposed the Empire bombed his sandcrawler or something?"

"Well, actually," Moira said, rubbing the back of her neck rather sheepishly. "Baraz kinda snuck aboard this Imperial shipment of Thermal Detonators we hijacked and we got stuck with him. Apparently he left his tribe when they got fed up with his destructive streak. He's pretty obsessed with guns and bombs you see. He's a valuable team member regardless. The upgraded guns on our fighters? His doing. He even modifies our rockets and bombs to be twice as effective in battle. Swarm missiles, cluster bombs, he can make anything with the right components. Guess it comes with being a desert scavenger."

Baraz spoke up in his high pitched weird little language at that comment. He then started laughing, or giggling, it was hard to tell with the way Jawas sounded.

"Don't worry, Baraz, I'm sure the Commander has something really big for us to explode down on that planet," Moira assured the Jawa. She leaned over to Ahsoka and whispered to her. "You do have something we need explode down there right? Cause he gets awfully snippy when we don't at least make some kind of fireball on a mission."

"I wouldn't have asked for your help if I didn't require an extra big fireball of some kind," Ahsoka assured her.

Moira seemed to relieved at that information. With all that said, Baraz did seem a bit unstable. Ahsoka only cared about whether or not the Jawa's bombs would be enough to kill a Zillo-Beast clone though. So she wasn't going to argue about having an explosion happy former desert dweller on call. At least not in this case.

Ro'Das stepped up next, standing beside Gorossk as he spoke. He kept his arms crossed as he stared Ahsoka down.

"Alright, let's be honest here," he began rather sternly. "You're here because you wanna know if we're committed right? That's what all these questions are about. We get it, we're working on your payroll. To you, we're just mercs, little better than bounty hunters even."

"A fair assumption, if a bit harsh," Ahsoka shot back with a glare. "If you were in my place wouldn't you want to make sure of who you were trusting the lives of your people to?"

"I suppose," Ro'Das admitted with a shrug. "We're not in this for your rebellion, that's true. I only believe in doing enough damage to it until it falls apart. What comes after it's gone I don't really care. All I ask is you don't question our commitment, especially when it comes to me."

He leaned in close to the Togruta's face and scowled.

"I watched my village get burned to ashes," he growled. "They attacked from a hundred feet in the air and didn't even bother to take a second look back. They just left, like we were nothing to them. Every TIE pilot I see I kill. Doesn't matter who. Trust me when I say this, I'm not really here for the money. I'm here to kill Imps. Plain and simple."

"I won't question your resolve to do so then," Ahsoka promised, holding her ground. "I do question if you understand the stakes involved. That goes for everyone. This isn't your typical convoy raid. It's a major Imperial stronghold."

"Don't worry, we remember what we're supposed to do," Moira assured Ahsoka, stepping in between her and Ro'Das. "We'll break through to the surface and help you get to that science facility. You do your thing and we'll do ours. Simple as that. We need to get paid after all, Anglyph needs a new translator after he busted his last one in a raid awhile back."

The Ithorian spoke a set of garbled words through his twin mouth on either side of his head. From what Ahsoka could understand Anglyph was defending himself, saying that the engine was improperly shielded. That he crashed because the engine crew messed up and thats why his translator got busted.

"Don't blame Jetty for you getting shot down, Anglyph," Moira shot back. "He does the best he can with what we have. We wouldn't be flying at all without him."

"Who's Jetty?" Ahsoka asked.

Moira suddenly slapped her head.

"Oh right, I forgot him," she said shaking her head. "He's our chief mechanic. Runs our pit bots back on the ship. I'll call him out for ya. Jetty!"

Moira looked back to one of the ARCs with a Greater Krayt Dragon's head emboldened along the side. Ahsoka presumed that was Gorossk's ship, but she didn't dwell on it long. Tumbling out of the engine block beneath the chassis of the starfighter was a golden orange and yellow striped droid. A droid that looked very familiar to Ahsoka because she had dismantled several thousand of them. It was a Trade Federation Battledroid, covered in grease and oil, but unmistakably a battledroid.

"I'm almost done with the primary power converter, ma'am," it spoke in the still annoying high-pitched whine of a voice Ahsoka so readily recognized. "Sorry about the mess, I got my leg caught in some wiring on the way out."

"Never mind that right now, Jetty," Moira told the droid. "Meet Ahsoka Tano, our employer."

Jetty clamped over to Ahsoka and started shaking her hand.

"Pleased to meet you, ma'am," it said, the first time Ahsoka could ever recall a Battledroid being pleasant with her.

When Ahsoka pulled her hand away it was covered in grease. Jetty looked rather embarrassed when he realized what he had done.

"Whoops, sorry," he apologized. "I forgot. I never really have much time for a clean-up wash. Ships need fixing, you know."

Ahsoka brushed the oil off her hand with her pants.

"Why do you have a battledroid as your mechanic?" Ahsoka asked Moira.

"He came with my ship," Moira replied rather succinctly. "When I started fixing up the wreck after I bought it I found him lodged in the engine. No idea how he got there. I repaired him, reprogrammed him and now he fixes up our craft after missions."

"It's a living," Jetty proclaimed. "Beats being shot to pieces by laser fire. Course every now and then the engine backfires and my motivator gets partially fried."

"Before you ask, no I could not reprogram the voice box," Moira sighed, almost as if she was anticipating the question. "I think the Trade Federation had that built in to the hardware with these models. I have no idea why. Maybe they thought a squeaky voice would be more customer friendly."

Jetty's head lowered sadly at the remark.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, I wish I had a cooler voice," it admitted.

"It's okay, Jetty," Moira said comfortingly. "Finish up on Gorossk's ship and start on Anglyph's Y-Wing when you can. Then you can go on break and shutdown for awhile."

"Roger, Roger," Jetty said, his arm jumping up and sticking out its thumb like some nervous tick.

Jetty clamped away back to his starfighter while Moira looked back at Ahsoka.

"He's a bit accident prone, but he's surprisingly good with starfighter engines," Moira stated in the droid's defence. "The thumbs up thing is glitch that happens whenever he says 'Roger, Roger', but it's not a problem, trust me."

Truthfully Ahsoka didn't have a problem with it. Droids followed programming, they didn't really have a choice in that regard. So if Jetty was now working for the good guys, fine. She just really wished she'd never have to hear those annoying voices ever again.

"Just make sure he gets you ready for the attack, we'll be arriving in system soon," Ahsoka informed her. "It'll be your job, along with every other pilot here, to break through the Star Destroyers guarding the planet and get us to the surface."

"We'll get through," Moira promised, sounding fairly confident in her declaration. "My team may be unorthodox, but they can tangle with whatever the Empire has to throw at them. I just hope you got a plan to even the odds a bit in our favor."

"I do," Ahsoka assured her "It's already in motion don't worry,"

At least she hoped it was. If Hera's team didn't deal with that gun soon, then it wouldn't matter how good Moira's people were. They weren't going to make landfall, not with the planet shooting back up at them. The whole plan now hinged on them. And maybe that giant lizard they had encountered staying as far away as possible.

* * *

The probe droid was doing its job perfectly. None of the Stormtroopers guarding the base paid it much attention as it spied on them. The images were transmitted back to the _Ghost_ where the whole crew watched them with rapt attention. From what they could gather, the place had been sealed up pretty tight. Everyone suspected that the monster's continuing rampage was responsible for the increased security. At least they wouldn't be taken by surprise when they attacked.

"They got a lot of Stormtroopers patrolling the area," Kanan observed. "It also looks like they've deployed auto-turrets to supplement the turbolasers they have along the perimeter."

"That's not gonna do much if that monster attacks," Zeb noted.

"I wager they're hoping to drive it off rather than kill it at this point," Hera suggested. "The turrets don't concern me though. It's the added Stormtrooper presence, that and the AT-ST they have walking around."

The two-legged walker was stomping around the perimeter, scanning the entire area. These things were different from the the AT-DPs they had encountered consistently on Lothal. Those things were for smaller scale occupations. AT-STs were more heavily armed and armored, equipped with concussive grenade launchers and missiles. It wasn't going to be easy to get past that, not without some decent explosives.

"I could plant a charge on one of the leg struts," Sabine suggested. "I could take it down. But it will require a distraction of some kind."

"What about getting to the orbital gun itself?" Ezra asked. "The control room looks like its the most heavily guarded out of everything in the facility."

From what they could see of their objective, the gun was a three-barreled weapon attached to a large platform that could pivot the barrels in several directions to adjust its aim. The weapon itself was lodged into the side of the larger building that made up the complex surrounding the gun. Two large struts on either side of the gun dug into the ground beneath the gun, keeping it steady and no doubt reducing recoil. It was an impressive looking weapon, almost as large as an eight-story building. Any ship that went up against it wouldn't last long.

The probe could see into the control room for the gun using its different scanner settings, revealing a number of security checkpoints with auto turrets and Stormtroopers guarding the approach. The hallway they occupied probably housed the servers and computing systems required to properly aim and fire the weapon. At least that would mean they'd had a lot of cover to use.

In all, there were about thirty Stormtroopers guarding the complex, both inside and out, not counting the AT-ST outside. The turbolasers out front made a frontal attack inadvisable. However, the probe eventually picked up a weakness in the defensive perimeter.

"Look here," Hera pointed out on the holo image. "Near the back of the complex. That looks like a maintenance hatch."

Hera's finger hovered around what seemed to be a hatch on one of the buildings at the back of the main complex. It was still behind a wall they'd need to get over, but the hatch could get them inside without having to fight their way through the Troopers outside.

"They must use it to get inside the gun's capacitor systems for fine tuning," Hera reasoned. "If we can slice our way inside we could work our way up to the main floor and then the control room."

"That still leaves us with a lot of Stormtroopers to fight through," Zeb warned. "We need to even the odds a bit."

"What if we turned their defenses against them?" Ezra asked suddenly, an epiphany striking him. "Could we slice the autoturrets' targeting systems? Turn them on the Troopers?"

Kanan rubbed his chin in thought, thinking through Ezra's idea.

"It's possible," he concluded. "Chop should be able to hack in. But we'll need to find a terminal with access to the auto turrets."

"That still leaves the Troopers outside though," Sabine warned. "Once they realize something is wrong they'll head back inside."

"Then we need to keep them out in the open," Kanan reasoned. "One of us could get on the roof, turn one of the turrets they put up there against them and keep them away from the main entrance."

"If you can clear the area of gunners, I could provide air support with the _Phantom_," Hera suggested. "But some people are going to get back inside, so we'll need to be ready for that."

This wasn't going to be an easy mission to pull off. They were alone on this one, no giant monster was going to help them avoid getting spotted. At least without a Communications Tower, they couldn't warn their friends once the attack started. They were all still worried about the AT-ST too. Sabine could probably take it down like she suggested, but doing it earlier would probably alert the rest of the garrison that something was wrong.

"Well, if we're starting out with stealth instead of a full fledged attack, maybe we can try and use that walker to our advantage," Sabine suggested. "If I can't blow it up, I could take it over. Problem is getting on top. I could use the roof I guess."

"Destroy it or take it, we just need it out of play," Kanan told her. "We take the main building and with it the control of the gun. We then hold that position and clear out what's left of the Stormtroopers around it. We're going to need to divide their attention as much as we can. They have numbers on their side, so we have to take that away from them."

The team nodded in response, but before they could continue, Ezra's eyes shot to the holo image.

"Hey look, something is coming into frame," he announced. "Get the probe to focus on it."

Hera hit a few buttons on her terminal and had the probe reposition. It spotted what appeared to be an Imperial shuttle coming in for a landing in the complex's courtyard just outside the main control building. The doors to the shuttle opened wide and out stepped five Stormtroopers. These weren't you regular Bucketheads though, their armor was a darker shade of whitish-grey, with a large visor surrounding the eyes on their helmets. They had a tube connected from their helmet's chin to their chest and each of them had a jetpack strapped to their backs.

"I got a bad feeling about those guys," Sabine noted aloud.

"They're Jumptroopers," Zeb instantly recognized. "Just what we needed, Imperial Special Forces. Why are they here?"

"The monster's attacks must've spooked the Empire worse than we thought," Hera determined. "They're not taking half-measures anymore. They're escalating, using every advantage they have to keep the big lizard away. Chances are these guys aren't the only ones out there."

"This changes nothing," Kanan stated firmly. "Jumptroopers or not, we're heading in when it turns dark. We just need to adjust our plan to be ready for them. They still think the biggest problem they have is that monster. We're gonna show them how wrong they are."

* * *

Klusto entered Doctor Boll's room quietly, spotting the Bivall scientist hard at work at her holotable. The holo in front of her displayed Alpha Predator One, as well as relevant data. Beside her, on a small examination slab, was the scale of Alpha Predator One they had received a few hours ago. Apparently Sionver had be hard at work trying to decipher what information she could from the sample. If the amount of data on her screen was any indication, it was quite a bit.

"Sionver," he said aloud, grabbing the doctor's attention. "I thought you should know. Lord Vader has decided to throw us some reinforcements. 501st Jumptroopers, the best of their kind. He's equipped them with heavy weapons, Arc Casters, high explosive grenade launchers, rotary blasters, rockets, you name it they have it. He's sent them out to critical positions close to where Alpha Predator One has been seen. They'll more than likely be engaging him again soon. Hopefully they'll be more effective against him."

"It never hurts to be optimistic, I suppose," Sionver shrugged, keeping her eye stalks glued to the screen. "After what happened in the Badlands though, I'm not so certain it will be that easy."

"I share your concerns, Sionver," he assured her. "That's why I and the General are hoping you've made some headway in your research. Brute strength won't defeat this creature, we know that now. We need to out smart it instead. Have you learned anything from the scale?"

Sionver turned to the sample on her examination slab beside her.

"I'm still curing the biological samples I took from it," she explained. "It'll take more time for it to be fully analyzed. However, I have been able to make a number of interesting discoveries. The first of which is that the scale itself is radioactive, to a slight degree. I can only assume the monster itself is the same."

"That's not too much of a surprise, given most of the animals on this planet are radioactive themselves," Klusto noted.

"Yes, but there's something peculiar about this," Sionver explained. "It's not so much the scale is covered in radiation, it seems to be resonating with it. Like its generating it. I need to run more tests to be sure. I have been able to get a better view of its molecular structure though."

Sionver waved Klusto over and he Commander eagerly obliged. He took up position behind her shoulder and stared into the holographic image. The picture of the monster was replaced with images of what Klusto assumed were the creature's cells in various conditions and states.

"I tried to simulate potential damage to the cells through a number of tests," Sinover explained astutely. "Extreme heat, cold, electrical impulses, acid, toxins, poisons, even subjected the sample itself to number of blade tests with different weapons. I wanted to see if we had anything that could pierce its hide."

"Thorough as always, Doctor," Klusto smiled at her admiringly.

"As you can see by this sample, it appears the cells were most disrupted by electricity," Sinover continued, pointing to the appropriate image on screen. "However, not long after I recorded these images, something disturbing happened."

Sionver changed the holo to display a different set of images of the same samples. What Klusto saw was astonishing.

"Why, they don't even look like they've been touched," he realized, his eyes glancing across the set of images. "How long did this take?"

"Only a few minutes, the shock damage sample taking the longest at five. These were all done on small scale though and separated from the body of course. However, it means this creature has a potentially tremendous regenerative factor. Which would somewhat explain its ability to brush off the majority of our soldiers' weapons."

"I suppose we should've realized this sooner," Klusto reasoned. "Many reptiles have the ability to regrow their limbs. Even Trandoshans can do that from what I understand. I've just never heard of them regenerating this fast. It's remarkable... and somewhat disturbing to say the least."

No wonder they didn't seem to be making much headway. This creature could recover relatively quickly from anything they threw at it. If they wanted to actually kill this thing, they'd have to keep up the fire until it stopped moving altogether. Something they couldn't really do when it was utterly demolishing their forces at the same time. It could take a lot of punishment and recover from it as well.

"That still doesn't explain how its able to survive some of our most powerful weapons systems," Klusto noted. "Is its hide really that thick?"

"Hide, skeletal structure, the scales being practically built like armor," Sinover listed off. "It's comparable in that regard to the Zillo-Beast actually. Energy weapons burn more than anything and the tests show the creature is highly resistant to extreme heat of any kind. You want to put it down, you need to get past it's armor altogether. Otherwise you're nothing more than fire wasp stinging a Greater Krayt Dragon to it."

"At least we know electricity can hurt it considerably," Klusto considered. "Other than the mouth and eyes though, I can't think of any real weak points in that armor of his."

"I can," Sionver assured him.

She switched the holo-image back to the picture of Alpha Predator One. She then highlighted a section at the back of its lower waist near its tail for Klusto to see.

"Creatures of this immense size usually need a secondary brain," Sionver explained. "Again, similar to the Zillo-Beast. It needs that secondary brain in order to properly function it's lower half. If we destroy that, in theory we can paralyze the monster and make it an easy target. The problem is all those dorsal fins in the way, acting as extra armor and I can't be sure if there's tough layer of bone protecting it. We'd need something of particular high yield to break through it."

"Any other points of weakness?" Klusto asked.

"Under the arms, near the shoulders," she suggested, pointing to the image. "If it had the same layer of armor on its back there it wouldn't be able to smash and punch things like it does so effectively. I doubt shooting there can kill it though. At this point, the best we can hope is that we can drive it off."

Klusto couldn't help but agree. They were going to need something a lot bigger to kill this thing, but they could injure it, wound it even. That much was clear. If they could hurt enough, maybe it would decide this little rampage wasn't worth the effort. Animals didn't regularly pick fights with sentient species unless they felt threatened. Then again, nothing about this animal seemed regular.

"I'll be sure to send your report to our troops on the front as soon as possible," Klusto assured. "They'll need to know every detail they can if they have any hope of stopping this thing. As always, Sionver, your work proves invaluable."

"I'm glad someone thinks so," the doctor replied.

Klusto did his best to comfort the doctor, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't let Vader's threats concern you, Doctor," he told her. "He was probably just grandstanding. He knows he needs you to complete the prototype on time."

"I appreciate the attempt to console, Klusto, but I don't think Lord Vader was acting," Boll replied rather plainly. "I've heard stories about him. So far they're all proving true, if not underplaying him in fact. He's ruthless."

Klusto nodded, he knew she was right. He was just trying to lie for the sake of both their nerves. He was doing a pretty job of it too, considering he didn't feel much at ease either.

"Well, once this whole business with the Zillo-Beast is finished we won't have him breathing down our necks anymore," he stated. "And you'll finally get the credit you deserve for all the hard work you've put into this project."

"Given the less than favorable policy the human controlled Empire gives to other species, I doubt that," Sionver informed him. "I'll just be happy to see all these years of service finally produce something of value. I don't need recognition from anyone to feel a sense of worth."

"You deserve some kind of credit, no matter your species," Klusto argued. "You're helping to insure peace throughout the galaxy with this creation of yours. And it is your creation, no one can say otherwise. You've brought an extinct species back to life and have made it work for the benefit of the galaxy. Be proud of your achievement, I know I'm proud of you."

Klusto somewhat awkwardly placed his hand on top of Sionver's, smilingly as he did. Boll, however, just as quickly pulled herself away from him. She turned her head and moved towards the examination slab.

"Commander, please," she said defensively. "This is not the time."

"We're not on active duty," Klusto claimed. "I can't imagine a better time."

"It's not that," Sionver assured him. "It's just... not appropriate."

Klusto sighed and removed his officer's hat. He walked around to the other side of the examination slab, forcing Sionver to look at him.

"How many times do I have to explain myself," he declared. "I don't care if you're an alien and I don't care if that is frowned upon."

"You should considering the damage it could do to your career," Sionver argued.

"Worst they can do is force me into retirement if it bothers them so much," Klusto replied confidently, a grin flashing on his face. "To be honest, I've been at this for so long I wouldn't mind getting forced out of the game. I wouldn't mind finding a nice place on Ord Mantell or Alderaan if that happened. As long as I had the right person to share it with."

Sionver shook her head, but couldn't suppress the urge to laugh just a bit.

"I'd probably bore you to death talking about genetic sequences and amino acids," she warned jokingly.

"Not at all," Klusto assured her. "I find that your most enduring feature. Most people go for outward appearances, or traditional forms of beauty. For me, it's always been about intelligence as well as beauty. And you Sionver are probably the most intelligent woman I've ever had the pleasure of knowing."

"You are far too kind, Commander," Sionver answer back graciously, doing her best not to blush. "To be honest though, if I were as intelligent as you think I am I wouldn't have been struggling with this project for so long."

"All great advances in science take time," Klusto retorted. "The fact you persevered through those difficulties is a testament to who you are. That, and admittedly, your crest is a, um, lovely shade of red if you don't mind me saying so."

Sionver playfully rolled her eyes and turned back away. She walked over to one of her lab tables nearby as Klusto followed after her. He got particularly close this time.

"You're very persistent, Commander, I'll admit that," she stated, just as the Commander took her hand in his and turned her around. "But this... this won't work, for either of us."

"Sionver, please," he began again, this time more earnestly. "This project is going to be completed soon. If Sakal is right, me and him are likely to be placed in charge of commanding these creatures of yours. In the meantime, you'll probably be shuffled off to some other project. Somewhere your talents won't be recognized like they should. I can help you avoid that, I want to help you avoid that even if it may potentially cost me in the long run. More importantly, I don't want us to lose contact with each other. I'm not asking for you to decide right now or even soon. I'm just asking for you to give this a chance. A chance to make it work."

Sionver sighed again, shaking her head.

"Klusto... I don't know," she admitted. "You're a good man, you've been good to me at least. You've always been there to listen and defend me when things got tough with Nulon and Sakal. But, this is different. I won't deny I'm flattered, but I honestly wonder if you understand what you're asking."

"I'm just asking for a chance," Klusto assured her. "Let me prove it to you. You're a brillant woman, Sionver, and there's not that many like you out there. I care about you and, even if you don't feel the same way... I don't want us to grow apart."

Sionver took a deep breath and finally exhaled.

"Okay," she relented. "I'll consider it. A date, something, we'll work it out later. After this business with the Zillo-Beast and Alpha Predator One is concluded though, not before."

Klusto's face suddenly brightened up, a great smile crossing his face. He brought Sionver's hand up to his lips and kissed in gently. He then gingerly released it.

"After the testing of the prototype is complete then," he declared. "We'll work out the details then. I promise you, Sionver. You will not regret this."

"I expect I won't," Boll replied with courteous bow. "I look forward to whatever you will eventually plan."

"As do I, dear Doctor," he said, returning the bow. "Now then, we best return to our duties. As always it has been a pleasure, Sionver."

Klusto left the room soon after, a slightly greater burgeoning sense of ease in his walk as he did. Now he had an even greater reason to put this monster down than before. Sakal would probably gawk at him, everyone would. Let them, he didn't care. After seven years of flirting and courting, he was finally being let in. Nothing could possibly spoil this moment, not even that big stupid lizard stomping about. That was until he got the report a few moments later, that said big stupid lizard was on the move once again. This time it was through the mountain pass and Klusto had a good idea where he was heading.

* * *

The power station was a bustle of activity. Stormtroopers carrying heavy weapons and gear were running all over the place, getting ready for the inevitable assault. Reports said Alpha Predator One was on his way to their position in the mountains on a direct path for the power station. No one knew why it seemed so fixated on the location, only that they couldn't let it fall.

The mountain pass power station was responsible for many of Tsuburonda's Imperial Installations. One of those responsibilities involved keeping the turbolasers running. If the station was destroyed, they'd be forced to reroute power to keep them operational. While that would keep them from shutting down, it would decrease their recycling rate. The turrets' rate of fire and damage output would drop substantially. It would also increase recharge time for a lot of their vehicles and equipment that ran on power cells. Their probe droids wouldn't be able to get power at nearby recharge stations either. They'd lose sight of the monster and their only means of effective communication within a few hours.

There was also the fear that they'd lose power to the Orbital Gun. It had an emergency power source that would allow it to retain its damage output. However, the complex's defenses would go offline and the gun itself would overheat faster. That would decrease its effectiveness.

Kamo and Arch were already in the middle of it, trying to help set up what defenses they could. Kamo didn't believe it would be much good, not after the canyon. However, they did get some extra help. AT-STs were patrolling the cliffs above them and apparently, someone had sent over some special forces. A platoon of Jumptroopers with heavy weapons. Kamo wasn't sure if they could kill Alpha Predator One, but maybe they'd antagonize him enough to drive him away.

"Didn't think we had Jumptroopers stationed here," Arch observed.

"They were probably brought in from a neighboring system," Kamo suggested. "That could mean we have reinforcements, or at least they're the first wave of more."

"I still say we should just bring a Destroyer down and blast the scales off that creature," Arch argued. "Why wait around for more troops?"

"The creature is too close to the power station now," Kamo explained. "We risk damaging it in the bombardment. Besides, I'm starting to wonder if a single Destroyer will be enough."

Before Kamo could elaborate on that thought, they were interrupted.

"Officer Kamo, we need to speak."

Kamo turned to see Agiri approaching with one of the Jumptroopers in tow.

"This is Lieutenant Devo, he is in charge of the Jumptrooper platoon sent to assist us in the station's defense," Agiri stated, introducing the Jumptrooper officer. "He wanted to meet you after I told him of how you wounded the creature."

"Your actions so far proved to be the most effective," Devo stated. "The creature more than likely was delayed in coming here because it was forced to lick its wounds. You bought us time, that will hopefully make all the difference."

"It was more of a spur of the moment kind of thing," Kamo admitted. "I got lucky to be honest."

Kamo tried to keep humble, but he kept looking to Agiri. It wasn't appropriate, but he kinda wanted to see the Lieutenant Commander's face when he saw that Devo actually approved of what he did back at the canyon. Needless to say, Agiri did not look all that that happy.

"My Jumptroopers have a plan of attack," Devo continued. "One we believe can help us in our efforts to drive the monster off if not kill it. The creature appears vulnerable to electricity and we have a working theory that suggests it has a secondary brain that helps control its lower bodily functions."

"So you're going to hit it with everything you got near those potential weak points," Kamo reasoned. "How are you going to accomplish that?"

"We'll handle that," Devo assured him. "What I need you to do is to spread the word among the men. I got the impression they respect you given the chatter I heard. We don't have enough Arc Casters to hand out, but we brought plenty of rocket launchers. We're going to distribute them to the Troopers. Your job is to have to shoot the creature in his mouth and under his arms. That should give my people the opportunity they need to bring this fight to the lizard directly."

Agiri suddenly intercut himself into the conversation again.

"I don't believe it is wise to entrust infantry operations to a Clone, Lieutenant," Agiri declared. "Now I am in charge of this defense and-"

"My orders come from a higher authority," Devo abruptly informed Agiri. "I have been instructed to carry out this strategy directly and personally, however I see fit. Commander Klusto assured me I would not have those instructions impeded in any way, shape or form. You are still in command in regards to defending this installation. I am tasked with either killing or diverting Alpha Predator One away. You retain command over the walkers, guns and your own forces. I require three squads worth of men in order to properly carry out my orders and I am requesting that Officer Kamo be placed in charge of them."

Agiri eyed the Jumptrooper suspiciously.

"Who exactly is this higher authority?" He asked.

"That information is classified," Devo stated astutely. "All you need to know, is that Commander Klusto himself assured me nothing would interfere with my orders. Anything more than that I cannot say."

Agiri groaned slightly, a look of defeat on his face.

"Very well, Officer Kamo will have his three squad command," he relented. "But I will be speaking to Commander Klusto after this battle is over and will formally be requesting more information."

"That is within your right, but not of my concern currently, sir," Devo replied simply. "If you excuse me, I need to prepare my men for the mission. Officer Kamo, I trust you relay my intel accordingly."

"Of course, you will have your ground support, Lieutenant," Kamo promised.

Devo saluted and marched away. Agiri watched as he left them, a scowl on his face. He then turned to approach Kamo directly.

"You must feel real proud of yourself, Clone," he stated. "Thinking you can make me look the fool."

"I did nothing of the kind, sir," Kamo replied, his own temper starting to boil up to the surface. "Lieutenant Devo has his orders and I will do my best to assist him in carrying them out. If you really want to argue this, perhaps you should contact Commander Klusto instead of taking your frustration out on me."

"You forget that I am still your direct superior," Agiri countered, pointing a finger in the Clone's face. "If you honestly think I am going to let you humiliate me in front of these elite soldiers, you have another thing coming. If it were up to me, I would've stuck you on the cliffs above where you can't sabotage anymore of my attack strategies. My hands are tied in that regard, but not in this. You want to lead squads? Fine, but a Comms Officer cannot lead troops in that capacity. So effective immediately, you are no longer an Officer. You have been demoted to Sergeant."

Kamo didn't say a word, but Arch was quick to jump in.

"You can't do that, sir," Arch declared. "Officer Kamo is-"

"An insubordinate laboratory relic I will not have undermining my authority again," Agiri rebuffed, staring down the young Private. "And if you start undermining my Command yourself, Private, you'll find yourself out of this army faster than you can physically comprehend."

Kamo pushed Arch back lightly and stepped forward.

"If this is how you want to play it, sir, then fine," Kamo stated. "Take away my officer's rank. I don't need it to lead and I don't need it to fight. But I will be taking this matter up with Commander Klusto at the nearest possible opportunity myself."

"Go ahead, Clone," Agiri dared. "You're lucky I don't just find a way to discharge you after your previous disregard for my orders. Klusto won't listen to a genetically degrading copy of a dead bounty hunter. Sooner or later you'll realize how truly irrelevant you've become."

"I don't need a reminder," Kamo shot back. "But I have just as much right to be a soldier in this army as you do. And if you think that my long years of service count for nothing, then you will be pleasantly surprised."

"I highly doubt it," Agiri answered in kind. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a power station to defend."

The Lieutenant Commander left, probably feeling pretty proud of himself. Kamo didn't care. Let Agiri think he somehow earned a petty victory. All that concerned Kamo was beating Alpha Predator One. Arch, however, was taking it a lot harder.

"This is wrong, sir," Arch said defiantly. "He can't just rip away your rank like that."

"Let it go, Arch, it's not our primary concern," Kamo told him. "We have a rampaging lizard on the way and we need to gather everyone up for the fight. Come on."

Kamo walked off back to the assembly area where the other Troopers were. Arch followed close behind.

"You really think the Jumptroopers can kill that thing like they say?" He asked the old Clone.

"No idea, but I'm hoping whatever plan they got is a good one," Kamo replied. "Best we all say our prayers and hope that these weaknesses they discovered have some weight to them. Whatever happens though, I get the feeling it's going to be a long night."

* * *

Ezra kept hidden behind his rock. The planet's three moons were cresting the horizon now as dancing purple and blue lights crisscrossed the skies. In front of him was the Orbital Gun complex, their objective. The weapon was pointing up into the night sky, ever vigilant for potential invasion. However, if all went as planned, it would soon be on their side and busting a hole big enough for Ahsoka to fly through.

They were only a few feet away from the wall now. Searchlights were keeping watch over the perimeter though, as was the AT-ST. Ezra didn't understand why the walker wasn't leaving the exact spot they needed to infiltrate. It was getting tiresome waiting though. Chopper felt the same, as his low volume grumbles indicated.

"How do you think I feel?" Ezra asked the droid. "I wanted to be inside by now."

"They got this whole sector of the perimeter locked down," Sabine growled as she looked over her own rock nearby. "Even if the walker goes away, those searchlights have the whole area covered. We need a distraction."

"You want me to throw a rock at it?" Zeb asked sarcastically.

Ezra felt they could do better. In fact, he had an idea. Concentrating through the Force, Ezra searched for nearby life forms, particularly big ones. It wasn't easy though, the plains they were currently in weren't occupied by much. Being so close to an Imperial Base probably did them no favors either. Eventually though, Ezra did locate something of relatively decent size.

"Kanan," he whispered over to his master. "I think I found some friends who can help."

Kanan looked to him, slowly realizing what he had in mind. He could already see the form of the young man's plan in the look on Ezra's face. They were becoming that in sync with one another. Kanan liked the idea himself, they had done it before after all. It would work, if they pulled it off right.

"Alright, I'll help," he told him. "Direct them towards the walker. It will have to pull away if it doesn't want to get tripped up."

Reaching out with the Force, Ezra and Kanan peered into the minds of the organic creatures they had located nearby. A Jedi's connection to life itself enabled them to do many things, what Ezra had in mind was fast becoming on of his favorites. The creatures heard their call through the Force and were instantly drawn to their command. Suddenly a primal growl sounded through the night air, followed by the trampling of a dozen or so feet. Charging out of the thick grass and smaller rock formations appeared three black furry creatures. They had curved horns on the sides of their heads, a smaller nose horn and large tusks protruding from their snouts. The searchlights instantly looked towards them and the lookout called them out for the nearby walker.

"Guron Rammers!" The lookout cried. "Get back!"

The walker started backing away as the miniature stampede rushed towards it. Then it turned around and moved away from the oncoming animals. The lights tracked Guron's progress. When the walker had cleared out, the animal began slamming their heads into the wall.

"Stupid beasts," the lookout shouted aloud. "Cut it out!"

The Rebels wasted no time in closing the gap between them and the wall while the lookout was distracted. When they got there, they took shelter under the lookout's line of vision. The walker was already pulling away, moving to another sector along the perimeter. They still had the trooper above them to deal with though.

"Leave him to me," Zeb said, cracking his knuckles.

The Lasat dug his claws into the side of the wall and used his prehensile feet to firther aid in his climb. The Guron Rammers' noise disguised Zeb's ascent more as he closed in on the top. When he got to the lookout position, the Stormtrooper manning it was pulling out his blaster and taking aim at the Gurons.

"Honestly, I hate every stupid radioactive mutant on this rock," he growled as he took aim at the creatures below. "Fine, guess we're going to have Guron steak tonight and I don't even care if I get sick, I'm going to enjoy it."

That was when Zeb grabbed the back of the Trooper's head and slammed it into the back of the searchlight. Not only did this break the light, it also knocked out the Stormtrooper. Zeb's success prompted Kanan to concentrate once more on the Gurons who ended their futile assault on the wall. They instantly charged back into the long grass, fleeing the scene.

"Thanks for the helping hand you thick-headed fuzzballs," Zeb quietly stated as he waved the retreat animals off.

Sabine sent a grapple line up the wall. Zeb helped secure it and then helped each of his teammates over the wall as they climbed up. Chopper, discretely as possible, jump jetted his way over the wall. The rest of them slid down the side to join the droid.

"Alright, we're in," Kanan noted. "Now, where's that hatch?"

They all searched the nearby building's wall until Sabine pointed directly ahead of them.

"There," she said. "I'll slice us in."

Sabine moved over and quickly got to work. As she hacked their way through the door, Kanan laid out the next phase of the plan.

"Alright, once we're inside we'll split up," he explained. "Chopper, find that auto turret terminal and turn them against the troopers. Sabine, move to the roof and take out any anti-air turrets so Hera has a clear run. Zeb, Ezra and Me will make our way to the Control Room. Lets make this fast and clean, people."

The door opened with a sudden hiss and the team all climbed inside. So far, the mission had been easy. Everything past this point was going to get progressively harder. Ezra just hoped nothing suddenly made things more complicated for them.

* * *

The rumbling earth beneath their feet announced the creature's arrival long before they even saw him. Alpha Predator One soon crested over the mountain pass horizon. It didn't bother announcing its approach with a roar, it just snarled as it closed the distance between itself and the station. The very sight of him made a few of the Stormtroopers a bit more wary.

"He does not look happy," noted one, backing away slightly.

"I got a bad feeling about this, sir," Arch said to Kamo, sharing in his fellow Trooper's concern.

Kamo slipped on his helmet and turned towards his troops. He needed to reassure them of their part in the plan, or the defense of the station would fail.

"You don't have to worry about killing him," he reminded them. "We're only here to keep his attention off the Jumptroopers and the station. Hit the weakspots and hit them often. The AT-STs should keep him back for a bit, now lets get to our positions, go!"

The Troopers took off in their separate squads, heading into the various buildings that were building into the mountainside. If Alpha Predator One wanted to get to the main reactor, he'd have to get past the buildings along the path. That was when Kamo planned to have his squads jump him. He and Arch, along with the rest of their squad, would be taking up residence in the administrative building. The others would get into the containment and turbine buildings.

"So where should we hit the giant grey trandoshan?" Arch asked as they all jumped into the lift. "Armpits or mouth?"

"Either, if you can see it then you shoot it," Kamo ordered.

While the Stormtroopers got to their positions, the AT-STs in the rocks above moved up. As soon as the monster got close, they opened fire. Missiles, grenades and laser bolts exploded against the monster's head and neck. The giant reptile turned to the rock face, fire continuing to pour down on him. Enraged, the monster smashed his claw into the mountainside. The rocks slipped out from beneath the feet of one of the walkers and it fell over the edge towards the ground below. It never reached the ground though, as the monster's other hand slammed into it. The walker was crushed between the mountain wall and the creature's fist.

"Do not stop firing!"Agiri ordered from his operations post near the reactor building. "Lay into that monster with everything you have! All turbolasers, join in the attack!"

The turrets on the perimeter began opening fire, hitting Alpha Predator One along his jawline. It earned another snarl from the monster, who turned back to the AT-STs again. This time, it grabbed one of the little walkers in its claws and pulled it away from the mountain cliffs. The pilot started screaming over the open channel, filling the helmets of every Stormtrooper tuned in to his final panicked words.

"_I just want to say that this was a really stupid plan!"_

The giant lizard then ripped the head of the walker off with his jaws and spat it back out towards one of the attacking turbolasers. The little metal head tumbled through the air before crashing down on the turret, its gunnery crew scattering away as the resulting fireball from the collision rose into the sky. The walker's legs were flung to the ground next, smashing into another turret with the same outcome as the first.

As Alpha Predator One easily pushed past the first line of defenses, Kamo's squad arrived on their first assigned floor. They got to a set of windows that looked right out onto the approaching monster. Kamo was the first to line up a shot with his launcher, he aimed right for the mouth. The next time the creature opened his trap to let out a roar he fired. A projectile exploded through the glass, racing through the air towards the roaring beast. It collided with the inside of the creature's cheek. A second missile, fired from Arch, hit the monster just beneath his arm. His mouth still smoking, the creature turned to the general the direction both of the shots had come from. They had gotten his attention, which proved the theory of the creature's weak spots as far as Kamo was concerned.

"Alright, pull back," Kamo ordered. "We need to get to the next position."

"Why?" Asked one of the troopers. "We got a clear shot right here."

"So does he," Kamo insisted. "Now come on."

The troopers followed their Clone Leader and they were right to do so. Just mere seconds later, as the pulled back to the stairs, something crashed through the side of the building. Sticking out of the structure's side where the squad had been standing just moments ago was an AT-ST, now on fire and its crew's bodies lying among the smoldering ruins. What was left of them anyway.

"It looks like we're just pissing him off, sir," one of the Troopers told Kamo.

"That's what the Jumptroopers want," he reminded him. "We keep the big guy's focus on us and that gives them the shot they need."

Up in the cliffs, the Jumptroopers were taking that very shot. Lieutenant Devo kept his eyes on the monster as it passed by. Now was their moment to strike. With a single had gesture, his Jumptroopers activated their jetpacks and boosted themselves off the side of the cliff. They flew towards the creature's back and landed on it. Using the monster's own scales to steady themselves, the Jumptroopers set about their work.

"Team One with me, we're going to the top of this cold-blooded mutant," He declared. "Team Two, head down and keep your scanners out. Look for the target and keep me appraised. Keep your boosters primed and at the ready. We're going to fry this thing's brain one way or another. Let's move!"

The Jumptroopers began their ascent, or descent depending on which brain they were headed for. Using their jetpacks the whole way would've depleted their fuel too quickly, especially on this living mountain. So they'd have to walk and only use their packs when they needed to. And when they found the brain, either in the head or near the tail, they'd light this creature up with enough electricity to power a small city. Devo just hoped it was enough to render this ugly lizard brain dead or they'd all be just plain dead.

* * *

Getting to the roof wasn't the easiest of tasks, but Sabine managed. She snaked through the upper maintenance corridors, trying to squeeze through the wiring and vents best she could. She suddenly appreciated Ezra's ability to get through these tight spaces. That kid was a lot more nimble than he looked.

Finally, she found her way into an elevator shaft and climbed into one of the lift cars from above. From there it was just a simple task of pressing a button. Once she was on the roof though, she soon found she had another problem in the form of the Jumptroopers. Despite how few there were, they had the roof covered. She quickly ducked into the cover of a large cooling unit on the roof, keeping her eyes on the patrolling Jumptroopers beyond.

Sabine had heard about Jumptroopers back in the academy, some of the best soldiers in the Imperial Military. They were well trained and better armed than your regular kind of buckethead. Tangling with them was dangerous. However, she did always want a jetpack of her own. Maybe this was her chance to get one, if she was lucky enough to grab one of course. Before she did anything though, she needed to check in with the others.

"Spectre Five to Spectre One," she said over the comm with a hushed whisper. "I'm on the roof, whats your status?"

"_Outside the objective now,"_ Kanan replied. _"Spectre Three is inside security, he's slicing in. We're moving once the turrets have been turned. Should be any second now."_

"Okay, I'll wait for the fireworks too," Sabine answered back.

She decided to analyze the situation while she had the time. There were Five Jumptroopers, there were also the gunnery crews for the Turbolasers nearby. She was pretty outnumbered, but then again she had faced similar odds. Nothing like Jumptroopers though. This was going to get complicated. She could try to attack now, get up behind at least one an take him out. However she probably didn't have that kind of time and she didn't want to risk blowing Kanan, Ezra and Zeb's sneak attack.

She had one idea though. She could see one of the turrets on the far end of the roof section. She had to take it out anyway, so if she managed to toss a bomb on it from here she could blow it up that way. The Jumptroopers would move to investigate. Then she could take out one of the nearby turbolaser crews, commandeer the gun herself and fire on the Jumptroopers while they were distracted. It was better than just rushing in and spraying laser bolts everywhere at least. The big problem was landing one of her explosives near enough to the turret. That was going to prove a bit difficult.

"Alright, Sabine," she told herself as she reached into her explosives pouch. "Your instructors used to say you had the best arm in the class. Time to see if that was just another lie of theirs."

She picked one of her stick-bombs, designed to latch onto any metal surface and bore through the armor plating. If she could just get it to land on the gun it would do the job. She pulled her helmet's targeting specs on her antenna down to better triangulate the arc of her throw. It didn't guarantee success, but it make it easier to figure out what she could do.

As she was thinking things through though, Kanan contacted her.

"_Spectre Five, autoturrets are about to turn,"_ he warned. _"We're a go, do you read?"_

"Loud and clear fearless leader," Sabine responded. "Loud and clear."

It was now or never. Sabine pulled her arm back and tossed the stick-bomb. It tumbled through the air, end over end, sailing towards its target. She bit her lower lip in anticipation as the bomb descended, her fists clutching hard. Then there was a clunk, right along the side of the turret. The crew must've noticed something had hit them, but they wouldn't have time to figure it out.

She pressed the detonator in her other hand and watched as glorious plume of purple and green fire exploded into the air and tore open the side of the turbolaser. The explosion's color contrasted perfectly with the lights in the night sky overhead. Sabine smiled, taking it all in. She expected the boom caught the Jumptroopers' attention more than the color though. She did hope the latter played a small role in at least keeping their eyes glued to it.

Either way, the response as she had expected and hoped for. The Jumptroopers moved off towards the exploded turret and Sabine made her move. She rushed out of cover, moving towards the nearest turbolaser to her position. The gunner were too busy watching her handiwork to notice her rushing up from behind. She knocked one in the head with the end of her blaster, causing him to slump against the controls of the turret. His secondary near the gun turned to see the Mandalorian girl kicking the knocked out trooper off the gun's seat. She had already pulled out her other blaster and fired into the trooper's face.

By now the Jumptroopers had realized what was going on and they quickly turned back towards Sabine's position. Jumping into the gunnery seat, Sabine took up the controls and turned the turret onto the Jumptroopers. She pressed down on the trigger and began firing blasts at the jetpack wearing bucketheads.

Her first shot missed as the Jumptrooper rolled to the side. He opened fire on her position, peppering the turret with blaster fire. Sabine fired again but this time aiming high, anticipating his attempt to fly up. Her laserbolt caught the elite Stormtrooper as he rose up and he crashed back down to the roof.

A second Jumptrooper was already in the air, rocketing towards her and firing from on high. Sabine led her target as before and laid down a trail of turbolaser shots in his flight path. One of the shots hit his pack and the trooper spun out of control for a few second before it detonated.

The Jumptroopers were a lot faster then her shooting though. One managed to get through her barrage of fire and land on the turret itself. He aimed his blaster down at her and she barely managed to roll out of the seat before a hail of laserbolts filled her full of holes. She popped back up and fired her twin blasters repeatedly at the Jumptrooper. He ducked behind the turret as the shots came at him, only getting slightly nicked in the arm by one of the laserbolts.

Sabine wasn't about to let him take the turret and turn it on her though. She reached into her pack and tossed another stick-bomb at the gun position. She ran for cover as the Jumptrooper fired on her from behind the gun, probably hoping to give him or someone an opening to get in the gunner's seat. It wouldn't matter, in the next second the turret was lit up with a blast of yellow and orange. The Jumptrooper behind said turret took the full weight of said blast and was thrown several feet away.

Sabine climbed on top of the cooling unit she had hidden behind, trying to get a bead on the remaining combatants. Instead she saw a Jumptrooper rocketing right at her. She took a punch straight to her face and found herself flung back to the roof. The force of the punch had knocked her helmet off, she could see it just a few inches out of reach from her as tried to sit up. The Jumptrooper then landed next to her and leveled his gun on her.

"No way you came here alone, Mandalorian," he declared. "So either you start talking or the next hit takes off more than just your helmet."

"Never was much of a talker, buckethead," Sabine snorted back. "I prefer action!"

With a swift kick, Sabine hit the Jumptrooper along the side of his knee hard enough to break his stance. She then grabbed her paint sprayer and hit the disoriented trooper in the face with a full blast of orange color. The Jumptrooper tried to wipe it away, leaving him open for the Mandalorian to deliver a double roundhouse kick straight to his own head. As he went down, Sabine rushed over, kicked his gun away and stamped her boot down on his chest. She aimed a blaster at his face, the table now completely turned. The Jumptrooper now finally got a proper look at the intruder.

"What the... you're just a kid!" He yelled up at her.

"And I took you down like a chump," she replied, not even trying to act humble about it. "That's gotta bruise the old Imperial ego a bit, don't it?"

Sabine didn't have much time to gloat though, as she heard another jetpack powering up. It was the Jumptrooper's remaining friend. He was now boosting up into the air and taking aim at her. With no time to do much else, Sabine stomped her foot down on the head of the Jumptrooper she was standing on. Then she took off running, scooping up her helmet as the airborne Jumptrooper fired down on her. Laserbolts raced after her. She managed to escape the barrage by sliding under a cooling unit. Rolling herself out the other side, she stood back up and readied her blasters. The other Jumptrooper was probably up by now and the Stormtroopers up here with them would be joining the hunt.

She couldn't stay in one place for long with that storm bearing down on her, so Sabine moved out of cover. Not even a second after she rushed out did she find three Stormtroopers closing on her position.

"Blast her!"

Sabine dove to the side as the laserbolts cut through the air towards her. She took aim at the trio of Bucketheads as she fell, hitting one twice in the chest, a second through the forehead and third took two shots to his visor. As she hit the ground though, she heard one of the Jumptroopers land on a generator housing unit. He fired a blaze of laserbolts, forcing Sabine to roll away. She picked herself up and began running once more.

She had no intention of getting killed, but there were still some turrets she had to take out. If nothing else, she needed to make sure the skies would be clear for Hera to do her job. So she made a mad dash towards where the next gun was located. More Stormtroopers soon revealed themselves, firing at her from behind ventilation and cooling units dotting the rooftop. Sabine ducked behind one ventilation unit as laserbolts tried to cut her down.

After taking a small breath, Sabine rushed out once more and aimed her blasters in different directions. Her shots slammed into one Stormtrooper's helmet and another's chest piece. She then fixed her aim on two more troopers to her right as she kept running, gunning them down as she charged past. She spotted the next turret, already turned towards her. She ducked for cover as a turbolaser blast cut through the air and slammed into a cooling unit, causing it to explode. Sabine grabbed one of her thermal detonators and rolled it along the ground towards the turret. The resulting explosion took out the gun and its crew, sending a plume of smoke and fire into the air.

"Just take out the crew on the last one," she told herself.

She hadn't forgotten about the Jumptroopers of course. She couldn't, they wouldn't let her. Moments after the explosion, one of them blasted through the smoke like a human missile. He fired at the Mandalorian, raining laserbolts upon her position. Sabine was once again on the run, this time towards the edge of the roof, the part that looked down on the courtyard below. The Jumptrooper stayed in pursuit, firing on her. Thing was, it didn't feel like he was trying to shoot her. More like he was corralling her, like a stray Nerf or something. When she got to the roof's edge she discovered why, as the second Jumptrooper flew up from below and aim his rifle at her.

"Ah, clever little buckets," she chortled under her breath.

She slid to the ground as the laserbolts from the Jumptrooper at the front fired, the blasts just barely missing the top of her helmet. She fired at the Jumptrooper as she slid, her shots managing to hit him a few times. His armor was tougher than the regular Trooper though and unlike one of his previous friends he was keeping his pack out of line of sight. The shots were still enough to throw the trooper for a loop though, which allowed her to keep a steady stream of shots going until she was practically underneath him. When she hit the lip of the roof, she pointed her blasters up and fired two simultaneous shots straight at the Jumptrooper's neck. As the Elite Stormtrooper fell from the sky, Sabine stood up and quickly turned. There was still one Jumptrooper left. Unfortunately for her, he was way too close for comfort.

The Trooper obviously intended to knock her off the roof with a ramming charge. Luckily, Sabine managed to take the blow and grab onto his respirator tube beneath his chin. She delivered her own series of punches in return as the Jumptrooper rose up into the air. Her knee kicked him in the stomach and he dropped his blaster. She went for her pistol and tried to put it under his chin.

"Stupid girl! We're already thirty feet above the roof and fifty above ground!" The Jumptrooper grunted at her. "You shoot me and we both die!"

"Then I suggest you get ready for a crash landing!" Sabine shouted back.

She grabbed the side of his shoulder and forced her weight to pull him down, enough to redirect his boosters back to terra firma instead of the moons. They rocketed back to the roof, closing in on the final gun position as they did. Sabine kept pulling and forcing the Jumptrooper to move where she wanted.

At the last second, she angled him towards one of the generator housing units and then jumped. The trooper yelped as he slammed into the unit head first and collapsed to the ground. Sabine landed just a few away, her blasters already out and aimed at the final gun's crew. She fired two shots, taking both Stormtroopers out before they could fire off a shot.

"Well that was exhilarating," she stated as she ran for the gun. "Not how I wanted my first jetpack ride to go, but whatever."

As she took up the controls of the turbolaser she angled it down towards the courtyard. She could already see Stormtroopers rushing towards the building. They had certainly stirred the nest up, that was for sure. She'd need backup if she wanted to hold them all off.

"Spectre Five to Spectre Two," she said as she opened her comm. "We got clear skies. Better get here fast though, bad guys coming in hard."

"_Already on my way Spectre Five,"_ Hera replied. _"Hold them off till I get there."_

Sabine started firing on the Stormtroopers below her with the turbolaser, blasting a few as they tried to make their way inside the main complex.

"I'll take out as many as I can," she promised Hera. "I just hope the others are doing okay."

She knew her fight on the roof had lasted longer than she had hoped it would. There were probably a few squads of Stormtroopers already inside the building. If they weren't on their way to Kanan, Ezra and Zeb then they'd making their way to the roof where they had heard the blaster fire. If she was lucky, the autoturrets Chopper hacked would keep the Bucketheads at bay for awhile. Not forever though and there was still an AT-ST walking around. Sabine still had no idea how exactly she was going to hijack or destroy that thing now.

"Do what we always end up doing, Sabine," she told herself as she continued firing on the Stormtroopers below. "Wing it."

* * *

Alpha Predator One had pushed through the first line of defense with little effort. Already more AT-STs were moving into position on the ground and in the cliffs to keep the pressure on the giant. The monster seemed to feel the sting of their attacks, but just didn't care. His attack was slower than previous ones though. Kamo imagined Agiri thought he was wearing the lizard down.

The recently demoted Sergeant wasn't so sure. For whatever reason, Alpha Predator One hadn't used his beam attack yet. Perhaps what had happened at the canyon had left and impression and he was now being more cautious. If that was ture than it was both good and bad. Good in that they didn't need to worry about the heat beam as much for the moment. Bad in that it proved to Kamo that the monster they were fighting was smarter than he looked.

There was little time to dwell on his fears, however. He needed to keep his disparate squads coordinated. As he looked out across the way from the building's top floor, he could see one of his teams positioned on the roof of the of the containment building. The monster was passing relatively close to them.

"Team Two, do you have a shot?" Kamo asked through the radio.

"_Yeah, but he's damn close,"_ came a response.

"Just hit him where it counts and pull back," Kamo ordered. "He can feel these missiles, so we know we're making a dent. We just need to be ready for when he retaliates."

"_Copy, sir," _the Trooper replied. _"Firing one!"_

At that moment a missile flew forth from the building, striking the monster beneath the arm. A second shot struck him in the teeth, eliciting a roar of anger. A third missile struck him in the eye, forcing him to close it. As he scratched at his eye, as one would do so if dirt were caught in one's own, he turned to the building, already starting to snarl.

"Okay, he's hurting, now pull back!" Kamo ordered on the radio.

He watched as the missile squad picked up and started running. The monster didn't have any intention of letting them get far though. He kicked at the side of the building, causing it to shake violently. He then smashed his massive fist through the side of the structure. When he pulled it out, he dragged a number of support columns and at least one floor with it. The roof of the containment building caved in and Kamo could only watch helplessly as the squad fell into the massive hole opened up in the building.

"Team Two!" He shouted frantically into the radio. "Team Two! Report status! Are you injured? What happened?"

There was a long silence for awhile as the giant lizard lumbered away from the partially demolished building. Kamo waited with baited breath, hoping his team had gotten far enough back. That they hadn't fallen too many floors. That they weren't currently skewered by pipes or fallen into some reactor runoff tank below.

Then, after a few short minutes came a sound.

"_Sir, we're all okay,"_ it said, out of breath and clearly still in shock. _"Floor came right out from under us, but we only got the tail end of the collapse. Fell a floor, but not too far. Barely got out of the danger zone I think. Another inch and we would've plummeted to the basement with most of the debris."_

Kamo breathed a sigh of relief, they were okay. He had pulled them out just in time. Hopefully he could do the same again with the next team.

"Pull out of that building Team Two," Kamo ordered. "You've done your job. It's up to us now. Regroup at the final line of defense. If something goes wrong with this plan we'll need to lead this thing away from the reactor."

The monster was now approaching the turbine buildings, occasionally slamming his fist into the cliff wall. The resulting rock slides broke off large pieces of the mountain, taking AT-STs with them. The rocks crashed through a number of the smaller buildings below, smashing them and anyone around them to pieces.

Riding throughout this rampage, Lieutenant Devo still found himself and his men scaling the massive titan. Devo wasn't sure if the creature could feel something so small creeping up his back, but he didn't want to take the chance. So he had his men take it slow. Not that it mattered anyway, they couldn't rush up this big grey monster if they tried. The creature kept smashing and crashing about, constantly moving. Each footstep was like a tremor and almost knocked them off a few times. Devo imagined the team lower on the creature's back were having an easier time of it.

When they neared the top of the head, Devo boosted up to one of the cresting smaller dorsal fins at the end of the row. Perching there beside his men, he scanned the creature skull. The scanner had a hard time penetrating the thick hide, but eventually an image appeared in the viewscreen of what looked like the creature's brainstem.

"There it is," he declared. "We fry that and this lizard is a vegetable."

But this was a two-pronged attack. Devo wanted to be sure they were ready to go at the same time before hitting the creature. The second they did, it would know something was up for sure. He radioed the second team.

"Have you boys got to the second brain yet?" He asked them.

"_Not sure,"_ one of his men answered back. _"Scans are picking up something big and blotchy beneath our position. But I can't tell if its a liver or brain or whatever. They didn't teach us xenobiology at the academy, sir."_

"Just tell me if it looks more like grey matter than its pancreas," Devo ordered. "If the answer is yes, shoot it."

There was a moment of silence as the trooper thought.

"_Okay, I'm seeing a lot of veins, maybe the nervous system," _he finally admitted. _"I think it could be the target, but there is a lot of space between us and it from the looks of it. Like a second skull or something."_

"We gotta take the chance these Arc Casters can do the job," Devo told him. "Get them lined up! On my mark, people!"

Every Jumptrooper readied their Arc Casters at the back of the beast's head, right where the stem was. Devo imagined the guys below were doing the same. He drummed his fingers on the trigger, let another crushing footstep sound and when the reverb stopped gave the order.

"Weapons free!"

Devo's squad fired all of their Arc Casters at once. The arcing lighting streams out from the rifles, slashing into the creature's skull. The monster let out a painful scream, his head shook about. Some of the Jumptroopers lost their footing on the writhing creature but quickly activated their packs and boosted back to their positions.

"Do not let up!" Devo ordered over the blasts. "Full charge!"

The poured the power on, the casters tearing into the monster's skull, assaulting his brain. Below, the same was happening with the second team. Devo could only tell though by the creature's back bucking slightly, suggesting he was hurting. He looked back for a moment and saw a huge pulsating blue ball of electricity further down near the tail. They were doing it, the caster had caught the second brain! They were killing it! It was time to amp up the assault.

"Kamo, Agiri," Devo radioed. "He's hurting! Open up with everything you have! Focus on the mouth and armpits! We need to keep hitting him!"

Kamo didn't need to be told twice. As Agiri's AT-STs up top continued to pour on the pressure, Kamo had his team in the turbine building open up on Alpha Predator One. His team in the administrative building did the same, firing missiles in relatively quick succession. The blasts collided with the monster's mouth as he roared, ripping into his throat and inside cheek.

"Choke on that you dumb grey bastard!" Arch shouted at the beast as he prepared to fire another shot.

The monster was in pain, anyone nearby could see that. Kamo, however, suddenly saw something else. The creature's eyes opened up and the old clone focused in with his macrobinoculars. He could see the pupils smoothing out into a vertical reptilian pupil. Like General Grievous' eyes, like before at the canyon. Yes, the creature was in pain, but pain only seemed to fuel its rage. Suddenly the creature began to turn, still roaring loudly, his scream deafening to all near. Windows shattered, Kamo's team clutched at their ears as it threatened to burst their ear drums.

Then Kamo saw it, slicing through the night sky like a scythe, the monster's massive tail. It smashed into the side of the mountain cliff with enough force to crack the rock face entirely. The AT-STs standing on it would fall with it like those before. The real danger was plain to see though. As the crack grew wider, creeping along the mountain at a rapid pace, Kamo realized where the tail had hit. Just above the turbine building.

"Team Three get out of there!" Kamo screamed.

But he couldn't be heard over the monster's scream. The rock face finally gave way and several tons of stone fell towards the turbine buildings. Kamo watched as the falling boulders and AT-STs buried his men inside the building, utterly smashing the structure to pieces. Kamo didn't even bother radioing them, he watched a large piece of rock crash onto their exact position in the building. He knew they were dead.

But in truth, he soon realized the turbines weren't even the monstrous reptile's target. They were collateral. He was trying to get the Jumptroopers on his back, the ones shocking his second brain, off of him. And when that plan didn't prove to be enough, as evidenced by the ball of electricity resonating from his back, Alpha Predator One tried something else.

He pointed his snout to the sky, straight up to the three moons above him. Then his dorsal fins started to glow. Suddenly an energy blast shot out of the monster's mouth, straight up into the night air above. Kamo didn't understand why it was wasting a shot on literally nothing at first. Then he saw the ball of electricity near the back of the tail just vanish. When the blue glow died, it was nowhere to be see. Kamo needed a few second to figure it out, but it didn't take long. The giant lizard's spines weren't the source of the energy breath, they let off the massive amounts of heat the weapon generated. The dorsal fins had probably incinerated the Jumptroopers, cooked them alive.

Devo was near the top, on one of the fins. Kamo couldn't see his Arc Caster team's ball of electricity either. He tired to contact him.

"Devo, are you there?" He asked desperately. "Devo, respond!"

The response came not through the radio, but another ball of electricity striking near the back of the monster's head.

"_I lost a man when the dorsals started getting hot and jump jetted off," _Devo's voice informed Kamo. _"But we're still in this game!"_

Kamo was relieved, even with his fears of what had happened to the second brain team confirmed. At least they still had one group shocking this monster's brain cells. At least they could still hurt him. They could still win.

Then Alpha Predator One raised his head up and smashed it against the mountainside.

* * *

The plan had gone almost how they wanted it to. When Chopper sliced into the autoturrets targeting systems the Stormtrooper within the server room were taken completely by surprise. Kanan had Ezra and Zeb wait a few moments while the fighting continued inside. They didn't want to potentially get caught in the crossfire. Kanan suspected they'd manage to take down a good chunk of the Troopers inside, but he didn't expect to get them all.

However about three minutes into the firefight, the shooting just stopped. He didn't think the Stormtroopers would be all dead by now, nor did he think they had managed to shoot every autoturret that fast. Something else must've happen and he didn't like it. He hoped that the other autoturrets located elsewhere in the base were still active, otherwise the Stormtroopers outside would be charging up the corridor any second now.

They wouldn't find answers to the little mystery standing out here though. It was time to head inside. Kanan took point as he opened the door. His blaster at the ready, Ezra and Zeb by his side, they entered the server room. They found several Stormtroopers slumped over dead, a number of destroyed autoturrets hanging from the walls and others still intact but non-operational. Something had definitely gone wrong.

"Chopper, what happened?" Kanan asked over the comm. "The autoturrets are offline."

A series of grumbling blurps growled over the commlink. Kanan's brow just furrowed at the droid's answer.

"What do you mean the server room's defenses have lost power? Get it back!" He attempted to order.

But Chopper just growled indignantly in response, informing Kanan why the power was gone. It had been cut manually, an emergency override in case something like this happened. It hadn't killed power to all the turrets, but it had shut off the ones in the server room. Which meant there were still Troopers alive in here, probably quite a few. A fact that was confirmed in the very next second when a blaster bolt blazed by Kanan's head. The Bucketheads were indeed still alive and already gunning for them.

"Oh just perfect," Kanan grumbled as he fired back. "Cover! Now!"

They all raced behind the nearest server they could find. They returned fire on the Stormtrooper defenders, but the Imperials still had them sufficiently outnumbered. Getting through them was going to be a bit more challenging than Kanan thought. He briefly considered taking out his lightsaber and just cutting everyone here down. However he decided against it, things weren't exactly that dire just yet.

"So what's the new plan?" Ezra asked taking a few shots at the Stormtroopers with his stun gun.

"I'm thinking," Kanan said gritting through his teeth. "I really thought the turrets would take out a few more than this."

"It's not so bad," Zeb tried to suggest, staying behind his server as it was pelted with blaster fire. "This way the autoturrets didn't get to hog all the fun."

"That isn't much of a bright side to this situation," Kanan growled at him, then he returned to his more stoic and commanding look. "Me and Ezra will cover you. Flank around the servers and take out some of of the troopers."

Zeb just nodded and took off to do his work. All Kanan and Ezra could do now, was keep firing and make sure the Stormtrooper remained focused on them. Meanwhile, Zeb worked his way quickly around the servers in the room. Finally, he got to the direct flank of two Stormtroopers. He could've just shot them at this point, but that wasn't Zeb's style. No, he needed to get up close and personal.

He extended his Bo-Rifle, activating the electrical staff. He then charged forward to deliver a rising upper swing the socked one of the Trooper's in the jaw and sent him flying backwards. The second trooper got smacked in the back of his head by the Bo-Rifle and pushed into the server he was using for cover. The staff shocked him for a few moments, pinned between it and the computer tower, before Zeb kicked him out of cover entirely.

Zeb looked out past the servers and immediately pulled back. Laserbolts crashed into his cover, the Stormtroopers were onto him. The shots currently hitting his position were being fired from further down the corridor and across the hall. He needed to get to the other side somehow. Thankfully he could count on Kanan for a little extra help.

Both master and apprentice were suddenly charging up through the servers, using Zeb's attack to get closer to the objective. They fired on the troopers attacking Zeb, taking their attention away from the Lasat. As they both ducked back into cover, Zeb took the chance to switch up his flanking maneuvers. He looked to the top of the servers, saw there was just enough space between the top of them and the ceiling to crawl along and started climbing. He reached the top of the server tower in a few seconds and began moving along it in a knelt crawl. When he reached the edge he jumped across, just barely sticking the landing. Luckily, his prehensile feet gripped the side and he scrambled up the side.

Bo-Rifle still in hand, now retracted to gun form, he began leaping along the line of servers towards the Bucketheads who had been shooting him before. He stopped only for a moment when he saw three Troopers behind another set of servers across from him. No better time to take them all down than now he supposed. So he started shooting, firing several shots at the group of Stormtroopers. With Kanan and Ezra's additional fire, he was able to mask the sound of his shots well enough. The Stormtroopers went down in quick succession before they could figure out what had happened.

One more leap to the next server and Zeb was now on top of the three Troopers who had been shooting at him before. He wasted no more time and dropped onto them. Both his feet stomped onto the heads of two of the Stormtroopers, smacking their skulls against the floor. He extended his Bo-Rifle again and struck the remaining Stormtrooper's gun out his hands. He then jabbed the electrified end of the staff into the Stormtrooper's chest before swinging it one hundred and eighty degrees around and knocking the top of the trooper's skull with the other end of the weapon. Already stunned by the first blow, the second hit took the Stormtrooper down completely.

Now the only bad guys between them and door to the main control were all nestled around said door. That didn't make things any easier, but it certainly freed up some space to move. There were eight troopers in total, all armed to the teeth and in good cover. Getting through their barrage of fire wasn't going to to be easy.

Kanan and Ezra rushed up to Zeb's position, managing to avoid the constant string of fire. When they arrived, taking cover among the servers across from Zeb, Kanan took stock of the situation and tried to figure out a solution. He could only think of one.

"Ezra, help me push this server over," he told his apprentice.

"What? Why?" Ezra asked. "Won't that get rid of our cover."

"Maybe, but it will crush the Stormtroopers behind it regardless," Kanan informed him. "Then we can charge the remainder in the confusion."

Ezra just shrugged and followed his master's lead. Reach out with the force, they pushed against the giant server tower in front of them. It started to shake at first, then slowly topple forward. In another instant, the server fell over. It hit the next adjacent one, causing it to tumble as well. Eventually the domino effect reached the end of the row. The stormtroopers behind that falling sever shouted aloud, panicking as the computers fell towards them. Some ran and Zeb fired on them with his Bo-Rifle when they came out into the open. He caught two, the rest ended up getting crushed beneath the falling electronics.

Before the dust had even settled, Ezra and Kanan charged at the door. The final four Stormtroopers were quickly taken by surprise, as Kanan got them in his sights. Firing off laserbolts in rapid succession, Kanan's quick trigger finger managed to take out all four of troopers as he dodged their incoming fire. Ezra was momentarily disappointed he hadn't managed to take out a single Trooper on his own. Then he sensed something from behind, crawling out of the server wreckage. He turned and saw a remaining Stormtrooper taking aim at his back. Ezra fired his stun blaster and the Buckethead collapsed to the ground for good this time.

Kanan surveyed the damage as Zeb approached. He noticed a large sparking power node on the wall, its blast shield opened. It looked like it had been smashed or shot. No doubt this was the fail safe the Empire had installed for their turrets. At least it only powered he guns for this room, they still had other autoturrets slowing the Empire down elsewhere.

"Well that was some good exercise," Zeb stated as he dusted off his hands. "What next?"

"We break through the door and take the main control room," Kanan reminded him. "Probably a bunch of Imperials in there though and they know we're out here. We need to get slicing through the controls fast."

There was a growling blurp from behind down the server corridor followed by an electronic whistle. They all looked to see Chopper rolling through the carnage they had wrought towards the door and them.

"Well just like you to show up after we've done all the hard work," Zeb grumbled at him. "Mind telling us where you've been while we were fighting the Stormtroopers in here?"

Chopper responded with an indignant series of blurps, explaining very plainly that he had been protecting their backsides. He had hacked into the door controls and set all the doors leading up to their position on lockdown. Now the Stormtroopers would have to cut through them as well as face off against the autoturrets to make it up here. That bought them some more time.

"Alright, good work, Chop," Kanan responded, doing his best to show he was grateful. "That should slow them down some. Now see about getting us through this door, would ya?"

Chopper just let off a tired electronic sigh, no doubt not feeling fully appreciated but what else was new? Regardless, Kanan was hopeful they were almost done with this ordeal. They almost had this complex under control. Once they took the control room, the rest of the enemy defenses would falter. At least that was what the hope was. He knew better than anyone how things could change in a short period of time.

* * *

They had been winning, they had been hurting it, killing it maybe. At least that was what Devo had thought. Now he wasn't so sure they had been winning at all. Even after getting his brains shocked, this thing kept going. For awhile after the monster slammed his head into the mountain, Devo was sure he was dead. That he'd been seeing a light or something soon, a voice calling him to beyond. Instead, he heard something else.

"_Lieutenant Devo, do you copy? Devo, do you read?" _

It was Kamo, he was sure of it. Opening his eyes at last, Devo realized he wasn't dead. The blow had just knocked him out. He was still, miraculously, on the giant lizard, lodged partially between some of his massive scales and one of the dorsal fins. Devo quickly forced himself out of his predicament, trying to put some distance between him and dorsal fin itself. He did not want to be cooked alive like his other men had been.

At that moment he remembered his squad and looked around for them. But he found no trace. They had not been as lucky it seemed. He was the only survivor of the strike team, the only soldier with an Arc Caster still on the monster. That wasn't going to be enough to kill it, that was for sure. Maybe it would be enough at least to drive the beast away from the power station.

"Kamo," Devo finally said through the helmet's commlink. "I'm alive, I'm alright. But the rest of my team is down. I'm going to try something else, lead this thing off the mountain. I need your help though. You still have missile teams in the game?"

"_Yeah, he's closing on the administrative building,"_ Kamo explained. _"He's almost at the reactor. The ground defenses aren't even slowing him down anymore. He's just stepping on them."_

"Just distract him for a bit, Kamo," Devo informed him. "If I'm lucky I can force him to leave, but I need to get back up to his head."

Over in the administrative building, Kamo just nodded in response to the plan before finally acknowledging.

"Alright, we'll keep him preoccupied," he promised. "We really did a number on his mouth before, maybe we can help you weaken him if we get him there again."

That was Kamo's hope at least. He got everyone ready along the top floor, spreading out their numbers to create maximum saturation. They'd fire every missile in their tubes at once, that would hopefully be enough to really hurt the monster at this point. As the creature strode past, Kamo himself lifted up one of the missile launchers and aimed it towards the beast's eye.

"Last chance people," he told his team. "Make it count!"

As the creature once again, Kamo fired his shot. The rest of the squad did the same, hitting the beast all along his head. Eyes, nostrils, jaw, neck. They all took a full blast. The beast's face contorted into a rage, turning away from the administrative building, roaring in anger as he did. Kamo didn't want to wait around for the creature's eyes to turn onto them.

"Everyone, we need to get to the lower floors, move!"

Kamo's order wasn't fast enough though, as the monster turned towards the large buildind and peered directly into it. The monster spotted one of the missile troopers at the far end of their line and put his face right up to him. In a panic, the soldier slapped another missile into the tube and fired as the creature roared at him. The projectile went straight down the monster's throat and exploded, causing the beast to cringe in a form of disgust.

"Maybe you should stick to smoking death sticks," the trooper chided. "Gotta be healthier than missiles."

The monster did not appreciate the joke. Before Kamo could yell at the soldier to get out of there, the monster's hand crashed down into the building. The trooper was crushed as the reptilian claw cut through the side of the structure, the last thing Kamo could hear of him was a pained scream of death. The monster then started to turn and raised his tail high. Kamo knew what was coming next.

"MOVE!" He ordered again, ushering what was left of his squad down the stairs.

He dove in last, rushing down the steps as the massive tail decapitated the upper floors of the administration building. Concrete, wires and steel crashed down on them as they ran, pieces of debris falling in their path or on top of them. Kamo lost another two soldiers before they finally escaped the crumbling stairway. One was simply crushed by a large piece of concrete. The other fell when a piece of debris took out a lage chunk of the stairs, taking him with it.

Outside, Devo watched the creature pull its tail back back to his side. He was't sure if Kamo was dead or alive at this point, but he put the thought out of his mind. He needed to end this, now. The force of the hit Kamo's squad had delivered had clearly injured the beast in some capacity. He wouldn't get a better chance to do some real damage than at this moment. Boosting up to the creature's head with his jetpack, he perched near the monster's eye and pointed the Arc Caster down into the massive yellow optical orb.

"I'm not so easy to kill either!" He shouted at the monster, and then he fired.

A surge of electrical energy shot forth from the Caster and assaulted Alpha Predator One's eye. A roar of anger and pain sounded from the beast, echoing through the night air. The creature shook his head about, forcing Devo off of his head. As the lieutenant fell, he activated his jetpack and kept on shooting. He blasted the monster in the eye again, then near the wounds along his mouth. He went for maximum damage wherever he could.

"That's right, stay angry at me," he called out. "Stay focused on me!"

Devo now began flying back towards the mountain cliffs, intending for the monster to follow and keep following, all the way back down the mountain pass. He just needed to lead him away and the reactor just might be saved. A good plan, it might have worked. If not for the monster's hand suddenly rising up and swatting Devo.

The force of the hit sent the Jumptrooper flying backwards, straight into the administrative building. He crashed through a widow on one of the lower floors and slammed into a back wall. His pack stopped working, its electronics smoking. Devo was surprised he was still alive, but he could barely move. He wondered how many bones he had just broken as he lay against the wall.

Luck was still with him in a sense though, as Kamo soon appeared from out of the nearby stairwell. He rushed over to the Lieutenant, trying to see if he was still alive.

"Everything alright, sir?" He asked.

"No," Devo mumbled weakly.

Kamo had Arch help him up, placing him on his own shoulder. As they did, Alpha Predator One turned to the building again and began smashing the top floors once more. He was tired of playing around, he was taking this structure down, Kamo could just tell. They needed a fast exit. Thankfully, there was a turbolift system nearby. He had two of his men force the doors open. No lift, but they could still get down.

"Get out the cables," Kamo ordered next.

They quickly attached a series of long grappling cables to the sides of the lift and then tossed the ends down the shaft. Kamo had the rest of the team go first, then Arch, then him carrying Devo on his back. There was no time for slow descent so everyone started sliding down.

"Hold on, sir," Kamo told the lieutenant as he took hold of the cable.

They began to slide quickly down the line towards the bottom of the building. Just as they did, everything above them started falling apart. The monster was already collapsing the floors above. Kamo felt the cable burning through his armor as they slid further down the shaft. When they landed on the crashed turbolift in the basement below they only had seconds to get out through the doors. Debris and concrete exploded out the shaft as they all ran outside. The roof of the basement buckled as the building collpased on top of them, but it held, just barely.

"We need to find the emergency exit," Kamo told the team. "It's our only way topside now."

"What about the power station, sir?" One of the Troopers asked.

"I don't think that's our problem anymore," Arch regretfully filled in. "It's Agiri's."

A fact Kamo agreed with and didn't like hearing in the slightest.

* * *

Sabine kept firing down on the courtyard below. Forcing the Stormtroopers away from the main door best she could. She was just one gun against a small army though and they had a lot of room to move around. She tracked their larger groups, firing blasts as they tried to charge forward. Stormtroopers let loose fire on the Mandalorian above in retaliation. Sabine kept ducking every now and then, laserfire striking the front of her turret.

Things got worse though when she heard the door to the roof open up. Stormtroopers had finally gotten to the roof and they were now coming for her. She wasn't going to last long like this. As the Troopers charged towards her position though, she heard something else besides their footsteps. It was the engine of Starship swooping in from on high.

Screeching out of the night, the _Phantom_ dive bombed the Stormtroopers approaching Sabine. Its guns opened up, cutting down the white armored soldiers with ease. The little starship came back around for another run, blasting what was left of the troopers. They fired back up at the _Phantom_ but the ship was far to fast for them to do any real damage. When the last Stormtrooper fell, the ship flew back over the courtyard and began shooting the Stormtroopers below.

"Nice timing, Hera," Sabine said through the radio. "Cut it a little close didn't ya?"

"_A little," _ Hera admitted. _"Now let's clean up these Stormtroopers out here. Kanan is gonna need our help in there soon."_

Hera continued to hover over the Stormtroopers, firing down on the courtyard and ripping into their numbers. Sabine did her best to help, firing on the scurrying Bucketheads as they tried to fight back. Her turbolaser blasts blew through the cover of one group. Sabine moved to the next target, chasing after one group of troopers as they charged across the courtyard. They were firing up at her, but she kept on target. A few good blasts and they were soon crumpled on the ground.

With Hera covering her back, all that remained was to clear the courtyard. Then they could get inside and help Kanan, Ezra, Zeb and Chopper with the Troopers that had gotten past. They still had problem to deal with though, the AT-ST. Sabine kept wondering where it was and when exactly it would show up. If they didn't take that thing out, they would be in serious trouble.

* * *

The AT-ST fired up at the massive foot above it, only to be crushed beneath it with relative ease. Godzilla could now see the source of the energy he felt. The main building was in sight, resonating with power that he could feel even now. The humans had fought to keep him from it, but their ferocity had only emboldened his resolve. They would not fight this hard if what he sensed wasn't truly here.

Their final defenses had fallen, their pitiful robotic machines of little consequence to his forward march. Even those ridiculous flying machines the humans from back home were more of a challenge. In the end, they hadn't proven to be the greatest threat. No, it was a smaller group of humans, one who could apparently fly themselves who had truly hurt him more. They were gone now though, dead. The only outcome that was certain. They had tried similar tactics to those who had attacked him before. Their redundant strategy had cost them.

Still, they had hurt him again. Their weapons were proving to be a match against him. They were relentless in their pursuit to kill him, just as the humans from home were. Godzilla did not see this as courage though, as he suspected the humans did. No, it was arrogance, the same arrogance that permeated throughout their species. That of an unwillingness to accept the inevitable, to accept their punishment, to accept they were wrong.

So just as before, he'd keep punishing them. He'd keep bringing destruction. He'd keep hitting them until they understood, until they accepted. This would be their first true lesson. The power thought they had harnessed for themselves would feed him instead. Then they'd see how little control they truly had.

As he approached the station, laser weapons opened up from ever corner. More of the AT-STs, turbolasers, even a few with those missile launchers that had pestered him so this night. Worthless arrogant insects, they should've run while they had the chance. Now they'd suffer.

A swipe of his hand sent two of the little two-legged walkers hurtling into the mountainside. He then stamped his foot on the ground, hard enough to create a small earthquake that cracked the ground and swallowed up a few of the turrets themselves. He roared down on them, letting them know how small and insignificant they truly were.

He narrowed his sights on the main building, where he could feel the power resonating. As he approached more laser fire struck him in the face, coming from a turbolaser below. He turned and saw the humans on the rooftop. As he looked towards them, the humans fled. Finally, they realized the futility. Most of them anyway. One stood his ground, calling back to the humans who fled, calling them cowards, idiots, fools. He tried to take up the turret himself and fire on Godzilla.

The reptilian titan closed the gap between him and the little human. Eventually he stopped shooting and got up from his seat in the gun. He stared up at Godzilla, eye to eye. He was in some kind of uniform, military no doubt. Grey with a weird hat. Clearly by the commands he had been giving, this was their leader. He was in charge, he had been the one who organized the attack on him, he had to be.

The human leader fired up on him, hitting him in the nose with his blaster and screaming. Godzilla just roared back and crashed his fist on top of the stupid little ape. Debris collapsed onto the little human, crushing him beneath it. If the hit hadn't killed him, that had. Without a leader, the attacks in the future would falter.

Godzilla now turned back to the main structure, where the power resonated from. He broke through the tower and dug his hands into the structure. He tore through the concrete, the electronics, everything until he felt it in his grasp. He tore the reactor out of the tower, clutching it in his massive grip. He could already feel the power pouring into his body, filling him with a strength he had never experienced before. Their energy was greater than that of a dozen of the biggest power plants on Earth.

And now it was his, all his. As it should be. With this power, he would burn the humans from the surface of this world. He would show them, all of them, how small they were, how insolent. They felt their technology gave them power, but it was an illusion. One he had exposed before and would soon do again.

* * *

Sabine suddenly couldn't fire anymore. Her gun lost all power. The turret just wouldn't work, period. It had lost all power. The lights for the facility also flickered off for a moment before emergency power kicked in. Something had taken out a portion of the grid, it was the only explanation. Now her gun wasn't working and it couldn't have happened at a worse time.

The AT-ST that she had been dreading suddenly decided to arrive. He opened fire on the _Phantom_, Hera easily dodged the shots of course, but it was close call. Sabine knew it was time to act, but with no gun of her own she couldn't fire on it and she had no idea how to get to it to hijack instead.

At least, not until she remembered the downed Jumptrooper from before. Abandoning the gun, she ran over to the downed Trooper and ripped his jetpack off his back. She placed it on her, noticing it was significantly heavier than she thought. She quickly got it into position and took up its controls. She angled herself towards the AT-ST, knowing she really only had one shot at a proper jump. She now really wished they had actually covered this thing at the academy.

She fired up the engines launching herself into the air and forward towards the walker. Soaring through the sky, she kept her eyes focused on the walker's head. She strained against the g-forces, doing her best to keep her eyes open. When she neared the walker, she stretched out her hand and reached for the walker. She grabbed onto the top hatch latch and killed the engine for the pack. She landed with a thump on the walker. Taking a few breaths to recover from the rush, she slowly got to her feet and looked towards the hatch.

No turning back now.

She flung open the hatch, catching the attention of the pilots inside. She fired her blaster at them before they could react, taking them both down quickly. She then rushed inside and took up the controls herself, hoping that they were similar to the AT-DP. After a moment of familiarizing herself with the controls, she began moving the walker forward. She blazed a trail of laser bolts across the courtyard, taking down what was left of the Stormtroopers running about.

They turned on the walker in kind, firing back at the bi-pedal vehicle. They kept aiming for the eye-holes in particular, which had no protection over them. That was a major design flaw, Sabine thought the guy who made this thing probably overlooked it. She continued her assault regardless, forcing them to run from their cover as she trod over it.

As she neared one of the watch towers overlooking the facility, she received fire from a team of Stormtroopers who had taken up residence in it. Sabine turned the walker towards them and fired a concussive grenade that obliterated the small fire team. She then turned the walker back to the courtyard and eyed the barracks for the complex's garrison. She opened fire on them, ripping the small buildings apart, destroying the munitions and arms inside.

Sabine continued the attack from there, Hera joining in by strafing the courtyard. They were routing the defenders. They needed to hurry the process up though. Kanan and the others were still inside and they were going to need backup sooner or later. With that in mind, Sabine pressed the attack on the now disorganized Stormtroopers, intending to wipe out the remnants and get inside.

* * *

When the lights went out for a few moments, Kanan knew something else had just gone wrong. As if they could afford another hiccup at this point. Emergency power had kicked in, yes, but that wasn't necessarily a good thing. If the power went off, the defense would've had to reset and that meant the autoturrets were offline. All of them this time. That wasn't nearly as bad as the other bit of information he soon learned from Chopper. He hadn't yet unlocked the door, but it was unlocked. They could open it at anytime. The loss of power had reset the locks, they were all off now. That meant the doors Chopper had set up earlier were unlocked too. They'd have Stormtroopers on them in minutes, maybe seconds.

"We're out of time," Kanan declared. "Opening the door, get ready."

The kid gloves were off now. Kanan activated his lightsaber and opened the door, revealing the shocked faces of a number of Imperial Officers and Stormtroopers. They had't been expecting a Jedi to be behind this attack it seemed. When they got over the shock, they started firing. Kanan blocked their laserbolts with ease, sending them flying back at the Imps. Stormtroopers slumped back against the walls as their own blaster fire was sent back at them. Kanan pressed forward, moving his lightsaber to block every shot thrown his way.

As he moved forward, Ezra, Zeb and Chopper moved with him. Standing behind their leader, they returned fire on the Imperials. Zeb unleashed a torrent of Bo-Rifle blasts, cutting through several Stormtroopers as they tried to seek cover. Chopper and Ezra used stun blasts, Ezra from his blaster and Chopper from his built in defenses. They hit a number of the Troopers as they sought better cover.

Kanan finally advanced on the lead Imperial, deflecting a laserbolt back into his hand and forcing him to drop his gun. Kanan put the blade's tip close to the Imperial Officer's face and glared at him. The Imperial placed his hands up defensively in response.

"You're going to tell me how to operate this gun," he told the Officer. "Then you're going to tell what's left of your men outside and inside this complex to stand down."

The Imperial just laughed back at the Jedi.

"I'll tell you nothing," he declared. "Nor will I tell my men to stand down. You might as well kill us all right now, for all the good it will do you. I damaged the targeting controls myself. You won't be able to use it against our fleet. Without those controls you'll be shooting blind. If you have an invasion force on the way, you'll more likely shoot them instead."

"You're lying," Kanan grimaced back at him. "You wouldn't damage your own gun. You need it."

"Are you a hundred percent certain about that, Jedi?" The Officer asked in return.

Kanan continued to glare at the man, trying to see if he was lying. He couldn't tell. He knew for certain he had no time to deal with this. He deactivated his lightsaber and punched the Officer in the face hard enough to knock him right out. The limp body of the Imperial crashed against the control console and fell to the floor.

"You really think he damaged the targeting controls?" Ezra asked.

"No idea," Kanan admitted. "We need to do a full systems check later. Right now, we have bigger problems."

He could already sense Stormtroopers coming their way, bounding up towards the server room. Mere moments later they appeared at the door to where this fight had all started. Their rifles were raised, their fingers on the triggers. Kanan and the others got ready to return fire, instead they didn't have to.

An explosion ripped through the corridor behind the Stormtroopers. It was followed by several laserbolts that struck them from behind. The troopers tried to turn and fire on their attackers, but another explosion soon erupt in the middle of them. Rushing out of the smoke and fire appeared both Hera and Sabine. The Mandalorian offered a wave to her companions as she approached.

"Looks like we came to save your backsides just in time," she noted. "Sorry it took so long, a lot more Buckets than we thought."

"We managed to commandeer the AT-ST, so that's one extra resource we can use," Hera added plainly. "What's the gun's status?"

"After the loss of power, I'm not sure," Kanan admitted. "The Commanding Officer also claimed he destroyed the targeting controls. So that might be a problem."

Hera shook her head at that, knowing what that meant as much as Kanan did if it were true. Like the Imperial had said, they'd be firing blind if that was the case.

"We need to start systems check immediately then," Hera declared, before looking towards their droid companion. "Chopper, get to it."

Chopper just warbled in response and rolled off to do his work. Kanan took charge of the other thing they needed to deal with.

"Zeb, Ezra, Sabine, start gathering up the stunned Troopers and get them some place we can hold them," he ordered. "This place has to have some kind of brig, find it. I'll start rounding up the ones still breathing here with Hera while we wait for Chopper's diagnostic."

"We're on it," Ezra dutifully responded. "Meet you back here when we're done."

As the three of them took of, Hera and Kanan found themselves alone save for Chopper. They took in their achievement, the Orbital Gun sitting outside the big window in front of them was theirs. They had pulled this off, Kanan was still surprised they had.

"Well, halfway there," he observed. "At least we will be when Fulcrum gets her people down here. That is, if the targeting system is still intact."

"Even if it isn't, we'll find a way," Hera assured him. "We always do. Frankly, I'm more concerned about that power outage."

As was Kanan, he didn't know what it had done to the gun itself in general. The complex had its own power supply, but he suspected there would be some complications if it had lost a connection to the planet's power grid somehow. He at least had a theory on how that had happened though.

"Do you think that monster caused the blackout somehow?" He asked Hera, trying to see if they were on the same page.

"I wouldn't rule it out," Hera admitted. "It would be a pretty big coincidence if it wasn't actually."

Kanan nodded in agreement. He didn't like how this was all turning out. The monster was still a huge wrinkle and while it was preoccupied with the Empire for now there was no guarantee it would be that way forever. Then again, if the creature was behind the blackout, that suggested these attacks weren't random. That there was indeed some kind of intelligence at work within the creature, as he had sensed back at the airfield. Part of him wanted to find out more, to understand what this thing was. But for now it wasn't his chief concern. He needed to stay focused on the coming invasion, on stopping the Zillo-Beast cloning project. And he hoped the giant furious lizard would keep his focus on hurting the Empire.

* * *

Kamo and his squad finally managed to escape the basement, breaking out of an emergency escape hatch and back to fresh air. What they found upon their exit was devastated landscape. The mountain pass was choked with debris and broken vehicles. Fires raged in every structure, the power station itself in utter ruin. To Kamo, it looked like something had torn the reactor straight out of it. He didn't bother at guessing the cause, it was obvious.

As they navigated the destruction for fellow survivors, they got a better picture of what had happened. Alpha Predator One had taken the reactor, chewed on it like a baby or pet would a toy or something. Then it just left, taking the reactor with it as it did, dragging it behind him. No one understood why it was doing that. They did know one thing for certain though, Agiri was dead. The monster crushed him with a single swipe of his fist. With Devo still badly injured, that meant they had no real leader.

The station was destroyed, their forces utterly routed and Alpha Predator One was still on the loose. This had been a disaster, worse than Solar Flare Field with even greater implications. They needed to get moving on this fast. As Kamo helped see to Devo's injuries, he gave Arch some instructions.

"We need to contact command," he told him. "Get on the radio, send out a transmission. Tell them we need transports as soon as possible. We need to get ahead of that thing and cut it off."

"And then what?" Arch asked. "Everything we throw at this thing just bounces off back in our faces. And now we don't have any heavy equipment."

"Doesn't matter, we need a plan of attack and we some kind of battleplan," Kamo informed him. "We need to get them a message about what happened. Something about that thing chewing on a reactor sounds iffy. They know more about this lizard than us right now, maybe they can tell us what it means. Give us a new plan, something. And we need to know where it's going if we're gonna pull any of that off."

Kamo got up and put a hand on Arch's shoulder, trying to comfort him.

"I know we're up against the wall here, but we're not out of the game," he assured. "We can still win this, we can still take him down. We just gotta play smarter than this, better. We hurt him, Arch. We're getting closer to killing him. I know it."

Arch took a moment, but finally relented.

"Alright, I got your back, sir," he assured him. "I'll see if I can scrounge up a radio or something. It will still take awhile to get to them though, comm tower being down and all."

"Just so long as it gets through," Kamo replied sternly. "Go."

Arch took off and Kamo finally took breath. He put on a good show for the kid, did his best to sound confident. Thing was though, he wasn't sure of anything he just said. They had hurt this thing, they had wounded him, but it didn't feel like it had helped at all. They were just making him angrier, making him more determined to strike back at them. Kamo wasn't positive that they had anything in their arsenal that could stand up to this thing anymore. After tonight he knew for sure they weren't fighting a rogue angry giant lizard. They were fighting a living, thinking, killing machine. It had purpose, it had intent and as far as Kamo was sure that intention and purpose was to kill every last one of them.

It was here to punish them, hurt them, ruin them. He didn't know why he felt that way, but something kept creeping into the back of his mind. He remembered seeing something the night before, something he didn't think anyone left alive could do anymore. This thing had shown up at the same time. It couldn't just be a coincidence. Something felt wrong, very wrong, he could feel it. Everything was starting to spiral out of control and he didn't even know if they were capable of stopping it now. Or if they ever had been.

* * *

AN: Apologies for my longer than expected absence. My laptop unexpectedly crashed and I was unable to continue my work. This would've been up sooner otherwise. Hopefully it wasn't too long a wait for any of you. Check my profile for my behind scenes post and do remember to review if you can. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter and are looking forward to next time. What is Star Wars without a space battle, right? Hope you're looking forward to it as much as I am.


	6. We'll see whether I'm Crazy or Not

Chapter 5: We'll see whether I'm Crazy or Not

Ahsoka had a feeling Hera had bad news when she contacted them. It was written all over the twi'lek's face when the hologram came through. Their simple plan had gone a bit off the rails. It was no one's fault, but that was hardly comforting. They had taken the orbital gun, they no longer had to worry about it shooting them down. Any hope of using it themselves though was starting to seem remote. All because of one Imperial Officer who had somehow guessed what the goal of their attack had been.

"Is there anyway to fix the targeting system?" Ahsoka asked urgently.

"_Not in time for the invasion,"_ Hera sadly informed. _"They really did a number on it. Several laser bolts straight through the processor, it's completely fried. We'd need a new one. As it stands, this gun is blind and on top of that the power outage has decreased its cycling rate. Even if we get a lucky shot, the next one will probably miss when they move out of range. Luckily the complex's own power source is holding, meaning we should still have the same damage output. Kinda useless though when we can't even hit the backside of a bantha."_

Ahsoka scratched her chin, trying to think of a way around this hurdle. They couldn't fix the system in time for the invasion, that was out. They could try to bulldoze through the blockade, but they'd lose a lot of ships in the attack. That wasn't much of an option. It was one she was aware of though and accepted if it turned out the gun would have to be destroyed. However, the gun could still fire, so she was not ready to throw out the idea of using it. They could just try to call in firing coordinates down to Hera and her team. But that would be incredibly time consuming and still open to a lot of potential error.

"If there was someway we could paint the targets for you," Ahsoka suggested aloud. "Someway we could guide your shots in with absolute accuracy. Like a designator or signal, a beacon perhaps."

"_You got anything that can do that?"_ Hera asked hopefully.

"Maybe, I need to check," the togruta informed her. "Stay on the line, I'll contact you when I've confirmed something."

She placed Hera on hold and left the communications room. They needed some kind of beacon to guide the gun's shots to their targets. Something that the systems that were still operational could hone in on. She wasn't entirely sure if they had anything like that on hand, but she had a suspicion someone might. It wasn't much of a hunch, just something she remembered from one of her dossiers. Moira's Raiders did a good job keeping up with Imperial Convoys, more so than most marauders out in the Rim. There had to be something to that.

It took her awhile to get back down to the hangar where Moira was still prepping her fighter for the upcoming attack. Jetty was nearby, assisting her on the engine. When she spotted the Togruta approaching, she seemed surprised. Perhaps she didn't think they'd be seeing each other again so soon. The mission was still awhiles off.

"Something come up?" She asked as she looked up, Jetty doing the same.

"You could say that," Ahsoka admitted. "Tell me something, Moira, some of these convoys you've attacked, has there ever been a concern they could jump away before you can disable them?"

"Yeah tons of times," Moira admitted rather plainly. "I practically tore my hair out every time we lost a score in the early days. We always nabbed a big freighter, but there were usually two more we could've taken if we just had a few more minutes. That was before Jetty and Baraza cooked up something for us, tracking devices. They're very crude, nothing like those top of the line ones the Empire uses, but they work so long as we've managed to get through the shields. Then we just have to track them to their exit coordinates and attack again. Doubled our haul during raids."

Ahsoka nodded as the Corellian explained, the gears in her head turning faster and faster as the pirate went on. She wondered if Moira was slowly coming to realize why Ahsoka was asking this. The ex-Jedi Commander didn't keep her in suspense for long.

"Do you have any of them on you now?" She asked suddenly.

"A few dozen," Moira admitted. "Why?"

"Because we're going to need them," Ahsoka explained. "Gather your team up and meet me in the communications room. I'll explain there."

* * *

"This was not the original plan," Ro'Das stated with a growl. "You said we'd just have to harass fighters and maybe bring the shields on the Destroyers down a bit. Now you want us to call shots for the ground gun?"

"The plan has changed," Ahsoka reiterated. "Without the targeting systems, Hera's team can't accurately fire the gun. With the reduced cycling rate we'll have a longer firing rate. They'll be able to move the ships out of the way with relative ease. But if one of your tracking devices is on the Star Destroyer, then they'll have a better chance at hitting them."

"_All we'd need to do is connect the signal to the Ghost's navigational systems and reroute that information to the gun itself," _Hera's hologram informed them. _"We can have a bypass set up in a few minutes, so long as we have the proper frequency."_

The Raiders still seemed a bit sceptical, Moira especially. She turned from the little twi'lek back to Ahsoka.

"Why can't she just use her ship's own systems to do that?" She asked her. "Seems like we're going to be risking extra fighters and ship defenses for nothing."

"The _Ghost_ doesn't have that kind of scanning range," Ahsoka explained. "Not with Tsuburonda's radiation making a mess of long range detection systems. Your tracking devices could cut through the static though. If they can transmit past hyperspace, they can cut through the radiation easily. More importantly they can more accurately pinpoint a precise location than a scanner could."

"It's still crazy," Ro'Das informed her. "We'd need to take down the shields on those Star Destroyers way more than we originally planned. Not mention get close enough to plant the trackers on the ship."

"The gun will still be doing all the work," Ahsoka promised. "You just need to give it chance to land a kill shot."

The Raiders still looked wary. Ahsoka was a bit surprised they were so hesitant, but didn't really blame them. They had faced star Destroyers before, but not in these numbers. If she wanted to alleviate their concerns, she had to try something else.

"Listen, I understand if you think this is too risky for you to take on personally by yourselves," She admitted. "We can hand out the devices to the rest of the fighters, if you can even make more that would be appreciated. But you know how they work better than them. You've used them before. I feel it would be best if you took point on this operation. If you need any additional support, I'll do my best to give it to you."

Moira looked to her men for a brief moment, contemplating Ahsoka's words and judging what the others thought. It reminded Ahsoka much of her own experiences, of when she used to command squads of Clones. The more you got to know the people under your command, the more you understood them. Until it got to the point that words weren't always needed. After a few moments of silently conferring with her partners, each of them giving each other looks only they understood, Moira turned back to Ahsoka.

"Are you sure that your people down there can hit those Destroyers?" She asked.

Hera confidently fielded the question for the Togruta.

"_The gun can rip through those ships easy,"_ Hera assured her. _"We just need someone to tell us where to shoot."_

The red haired human looked to Hera inquisitively, trying to read the hologram transmission best she could. They were both expert flyers and dogfighters in their own right. Within a few moment, Ahsoka could tell that Moira had accepted Hera's assurances, trusting her word as a fellow pilot. Moira finally nodded before adding a shrug.

"Alright, we don't get paid if the invasion fails," she relented.

"And it would be satisfying to directly paint one of those big ships for destruction personally," Ro'Das admitted.

Baraz just clapped his hands together and giggled menacingly, probably saying something about the joy of causing a big explosion rather than just watching it. Anglyh just seemed to sigh and nod, willing enough to go along with the idea. Gorossk just flicked out his tongue and grinned.

"Just one question," he suddenly asked. "We get partial credit for taking out these Star Destroyers and half the people on them, right?"

"Always thinking about your scorecard, aren't ya, Goro?" Moira joked.

"It's at the top of my list of priorities, what can I say?" the Trandoshan chuckled.

Ahsoka shared brief smile.

"You'll get a partial kill credit," Ahsoka assured him. "Hera won't mind sharing the glory."

"_Zeb might, but he'll get over it," _Hera added herself with a slight smile. _"Just mark those targets and we'll clear a path to your landing zone."_

Moira reluctant demeanor had now faded completely and she shone a broad cocky grin.

"Well, I guess that settles it then," she announced, turning to her Jawa squadmate. "Baraz, you and Jetty get cracking on more trackers. We got us some Star Destroyers to blow up."

* * *

Sakal hadn't thought it could get worse after the destruction of Solar Flare Field. Now with the power grid disrupted in this latest attack, he was starting to ponder every other possible way it could get worse. He started to wonder who was more of a nervous, him or Nulon. The Overseer just couldn't stop pacing around, frantically rubbing his hands together and hyper-ventilating like his windpipe was going to close up suddenly. It didn't help that Darth Vader was still looming over them all from afar, staring at them with his helmet's black vicious eyes. Even though you didn't see much of an expression on him, Sakal could tell he was not pleased. He was beginning to think that was just Vader's normal emotional state, unpleased.

"This can't keep going on, Sakal," Nulon stated at long last. "At this rate we're going to lose every installation on this planet."

"If you honestly don't think I realize that, Overseer, then you're severely misjudging me," Sakal snorted back. "We are clearly dealing with an abnormal animal. That much has become apparent. Fretting about how bad things are going will not solve it. We need to formulate a better strategy to-"

"You have been formulating strategies continuously," Darth Vader interrupted harshly, slowly approaching as he did. "So far, you have failed to deliver on any of them. In the process you have cost me a considerable portion of my own Stormtroopers. We have lost two vital facilities, compromising this project's security and hardly anything you've done has achieved any tangible results. Considering your war record, General, I find these developments... disturbing."

Sakal's eyes went to Vader's lightsaber, where the dark-armored Force User's hand rested uncomfortably close to it. He did his best to hide his fear of the weapon, although he doubted he was succeeding. Something about Vader, the way he looked at you, that emotionless metal face bearing down on you, it felt wrong. He knew you were afraid of him, of what he could do. And Sakal imagined he enjoyed that, probably one of the few things he did enjoy.

"My Lord, please, understand," he tried to argue. "This... thing isn't like anything we've ever faced. We have done the best we can given the circumstances."

"If that were true, the creature would already be dead," Vader countered, no hint of sympathy within his voice. "Your excuses do not interest me. I came here to insure the completion of the project, not to watch you repeatedly fail to dispose of this potential threat."

"Perhaps it is time we throw caution to the wind," Klusto suggested. "We can bring some of our Star Destroyers down to the planet. That would give us an advantage against the monster."

Darth Vader turned to the Commander menacingly, causing Klusto to gulp slightly as the dark-clad warrior glared in his direction.

"Your actions have already weakened our defenses sufficiently enough," Vader declared. "I will not allow you to pull ships from orbit and further endanger this project. With our power grid disrupted and the majority of the TIE Fighters on the planet destroyed, we can ill afford placing more defensive resources towards this hunt. So long as this creature's path is pointed away from this facility, we will hold the Star Destroyers in reserve."

"But maybe the Commander has a point, Lord Vader," Nulon interjected. "Who could possibly know of our work here? Of the Zillo-Beast and the cloning project. Not even our men outside this facility are aware of it."

"Do not presume that you know anything, Overseer," Vader shot back viciously. "You have already consistently proven that you don't. The safety of this project is my only concern. That includes all potential threats, on Tsuburonda and off."

Nulon backed away, finally shutting up. Sakal breathed a sigh of relief, maybe they could get through this briefing without another lightsaber activation. He wouldn't argue for the use of Star Destroyers, but perhaps they wouldn't need them. Not with his new plan.

"Lord Vader, if I may," he began. "I have a new strategy that has a high chance of success. However, to implement it, I need to force the creature's path to divert away from its present course."

"And how would you accomplish that, exactly?" Vader asked.

"Our last reports place Alpha Predator One heading towards our test site for the Zillo-Beast," Sakal informed him. "I believe a strategic defense there will force the creature down a different path. One that will lead it into a trap. I've already set the wheels in motion. All we need to do, is hurt the creature enough and then have it chase us. From what I've observed, it seems to have a sense of vengeance if you will."

"That's not all it has, gentlemen."

Everyone looked up to the top level of the Command Center and saw Sionver Boll rushing down the steps towards them. She looked rather frantic as she ran down the stairs, making her way towards the holotable. In her hand she held a data disk tightly.

"Forgive my intrusion," she requested. "But you all need to see this."

She pushed past the group and plugged the disk into the table. Within moments, a diagram of Alpha Predator One appeared with various graphs and streams of data surrounding it. There was also a representation of a power reactor next to the holographic image of the monster. Lines were flowing between the two, traveling into Alpha Predator One.

"The latest information we received from the power station attack, it made me realize something," she began to explain. "The creature went to that power station for a reason, it wasn't random at all. He needed something there, the reactor core. It's why he was chewing on it, why he dragged it away. It was the sole reason he came there."

"Why would he want a reactor?" Klusto asked. "To use as a giant chew toy?"

"No, as an energy source," Boll explained in a dire tone. "The creature feeds off radiation. It powers him in fact. That energy ray he fires, it's not flame. It's some kind of radioactive ionized beam!"

Boll further illustrated her point by flipping to another graph on the data disk. This one showed one of the monster's cells being damaged by electricity in a small enclosed box.

"Working with the facts I knew to be true, I formulated a hypothesis," she stated as she pointed to the hologram. "I shocked Alpha Predator One's cells with two thousand volts of directed electrical current. Sufficient enough to severely damaged it. Under normal circumstances it would heal in twenty minutes from this. I then subjected the cells to high concentrations of radiation."

The hologram showed the results of the test. The radiation hit the cells and within moments they began healing over, reconstructing themselves. Using a time-lapsed feed, Boll showed that in less than eight minutes, the cells were completely healed as if nothing had happened. Everyone, save for Vader, stared in disbelief.

"Incredible," Klusto observed. "Radiation is actually beneficial to this monster."

"Could the radiation increase the creature's other abilities as well?" Sakal asked, for once genuinely curious as to what Boll had to say.

"That's a reasonable assumption," Boll answered. "This thing soaks up radiation like a sponge and uses it to feed, heal and empower itself. The reason those dorsal fins cooked those Jumptroopers alive is because it was releasing radioactive heat emissions. Like a reactor when its venting."

Boll flipped to another graph, this one depicting Alpha Predator One with a large hole in its torso. It showed a possible representation of the creature's insides. A very strange looking muscle was in the place of the heart, something far more complex looking than any animal. It looked like some kind large interconnecting organ with veins reaching out to every part of the body.

"This is a crude rendition, the inside of the animal probably looks nothing like this," Boll explained. "But my theory is that inside this monster is the organic equivalent of a radioactive core. It regulates the radiation the creature absorbs and distributes it across its body. That powers the beam attack, the pulse attack, it's healing factor and who knows what else. If true, then this creature is no mere mutation. It is a highly evolved, advanced life-form."

"All very fascinating," Vader finally spoke up. "But would you care to explain how this assists us in destroying it?"

"Well, ideally we would have a better shot if we could cut him off from radiation entirely," Boll responded, not missing a beat. "But Tsuburonda is cascaded by radiation constantly. Cutting him off from that source would be incredibly difficult."

Sakal started scratching his head, suddenly realizing something that didn't make much sense.

"Wait, if this thing can absorb radiation, how come it hasn't started doing that with the radiation in the atmosphere?" He asked. "He could power himself instantly."

"Well the radiation is widely dispersed, maybe it's not as reliable a method," Boll considered. "There is also the possibility that is also unaware of this. That he isn't consciously aware of the power source, again because it is widely dispersed. But if that were true, then that presents another problem."

"Why would a creature that evolved here not already know it could absorb radiation from the sky?" Klusto fielded, the reality of that thought hitting him hard. "Are you suggesting that this thing is quite possibly not native?"

"Unfortunately yes," Boll admitted regretfully. "We know for a fact it is aware of this absorption ability as it went for the reactor for that purpose. It can probably sense radiation in mass quantities but has a problem with more widely dispersed atmospheric emissions. It's body is probably passively absorbing the radiation though, it's working at a slower rate clearly, but it would explain its rapid recovery from some of our more successful hits. Of course, if it really isn't aware of the power source floating above it's head, if it isn't native, then we have to start asking the real big question. That being, where did it really come from?"

The thought hit Sakal hard. This thing was possibly alien? If that were true, who sent it here and why? How even without any of them knowing. Was it recent? Was it here for centuries, sent by some ancient civilization, and only just woke up? Did rebels find it somewhere and smuggle it in? No, was those were too ridiculous to be true. Something else was at work here, not that Darth Vader seemed to care.

"The origin of this creature is irrelevant," he announced. "The only concern you must preoccupy yourselves with is killing it. Cut it off from any source of radiation somehow. If this is the key we've been searching for, we must act upon it. Destroy this abomination so we may return to the far more important matter of completing the project. Continue with your plan. When next we all meet here, you best be prepared to spring your final trap and end this. I will tolerate no more disappointments."

Vader marched away, his cape flowing behind him as he left. Sakal instantly turned to Klusto with a stern look.

"Make sure everything is ready at the test site before that creature is even within two miles," he ordered him. "We need to get on top of this if we're going to lure him to the trap. I'll use Boll's information to revise the final plan. Make sure the troops on the ground are informed of all relevant information."

"Yes, sir," Klusto concurred, moving briskly to follow through with his orders.

As Sakal turned back to the holotable, Nulon suddenly grabbed his shoulder briskly.

"We need to do everything we can to make sure this works, Sakal," Nulon suddenly interjected. "We have to put this extended hunt to an end. The more time we waste on this, the less time we have to complete the project by the deadline."

"Leave the matter of this creature to me then and we shall end it," Sakal assured him.

"I've been leaving this matter to you for awhile and all you've managed to do is get me in even hotter water with Lord Vader," Nulon argued. "We've already had enough spanners thrown into the works already with him here and this monster business isn't helping."

Sakal pulled his arm away from Nulon and dusted it off.

"Just let me handle this," Sakal reiterated. "I'm in charge of security here after all. This is my department. I don't need you telling me how to do my job. Not with Vader here at least."

"You're Security Chief, yes, but I'm the lead administrator," Nulon angrily reminded him. "Everything you do reflects on me. Vader has already made it clear he doesn't think highly of me, every one of your failures is just making it worse."

"I have not failed yet, Nulon," Sakal glared back indignantly. "So just keep out of this and get back to doing administrative work instead. Relax for once and stop trying to butt into every little thing I do."

Sakal walked away, not in the mood to hear more of Nulon's consistent badgering. As if he didn't know that every missed opportunity to kill this thing was making them look bad. It was making them all look bad. Nulon only really cared about that in relation to himself though. Sakal wished he'd just cool it already, before he said or did something really stupid. He was becoming more and more of a nervous wreck and it was not helping anyone.

Sakal just hoped they'd get through today, that the operation would go as planned. Then they'd be rid of this damn monster and be back to to working on their own before too long. So long as everyone played their part, and people like Nulon of course kept out of it.

* * *

"Gave it our best damn shot and it blew up in our faces," Devo growled through the pain in his shoulder. "Should've pulled out sooner than we did. I've been sucker-punched before, but never that hard or this bad. One hit and I'm out, like that. Unbelievable."

"If it's any consolation, you did get hit by a giant reptile, sir," Kamo reminded him.

Devo leaned his head back against the Imperial Dropship Transport, trying to support it against the metal. The gunmetal grey craft had taken a few hours to reach them, it wasn't until near daybreak before they arrived. Kamo was just happy they were back in the game again and on the move. These transports somewhat reminded him of the old gunships they flew into battle during the Clone Wars. It had the general same design, except more angular and pointed. The wings were higher up and the cockpit was split between two separate cabins. They also didn't pack the same firepower as the old gunships, just two nose lasers and two wing guns on the tips. They weren't much of an assault craft, but they got the job done more or less.

"Thanks for getting me out there, Kamo," Devo informed him. "I probably would've died in that tower if you hadn't been able to cart my butt down the turbolift shaft. For an old timer, you're still pretty spry."

"I was cloned from the Galaxy's most infamous Bounty Hunter," Kamo chuckled warmly. "I guess it's in the genes. Although a regimental workout routine never hurts."

"Good to hear," Devo replied. "Let's hope the next guy we have running things appreciates that as much as me. I'm not sure what they got cooked up next for that mega reptile, but we're going to need every Trooper on deck for it."

They hadn't been told exactly what the new plan was. The pilots didn't really have time to get all the details. All they knew was they had to get them to a specific set of coordinates where the next play against Alpha Predator One would go down. What was left of the power station's defense force, along with several other platoons in the division, were being ferried to some unknown destination by any transport that was still flying. He could see the other craft speeding along in the formation outside the large open doors of their transport. It was a pretty decent sized armada. Whatever this plan was, it was most certainly big.

Kamo didn't know how big though until they arrived at their destination. They had been flying over water for a few hours now, seeing nothing, until Arch pointed out something ahead of them.

"Hey, guys, since when did this planet have a city?" He asked them all.

Kamo walked away from Devo and looked out the open door past Arch. He saw in the distance what looked like a small city taking up residence on a tiny island of in the distance. As they neared closer to it, Kamo could see a number of large buildings, almost like a small Coruscant. But something felt off about them. When he gave it a better look, he realized what it was. The buildings weren't really your traditional skyscrapers, they were pre-constructed buildings. Their seams, their foundations, their structure, these things weren't built from the ground up.

"Look at those creases along the structural points," he pointed out to Arch. "They're like puzzle pieces, made to fit together in a number of configurations. These buildings weren't built, they were assembled from already made bits and pieces. Probably over the course of a few days."

"You mean, it's like one of those urban combat environments they had us do drills on back at the academy?" Arch asked, sounding really confused. "Why would you build that this big on an island in the middle of nowhere? What kind of exercises would they be running here?"

"No idea what it was for before," Kamo admitted, before he started pointing down to the water. "But I know what they're using it for now."

Below them was a rare sight, naval vessels, the kind that coasted through the water and not the stars. The Imperial Maritime Division was rarely used in many operations, but they were still formidable force. Kamo could only imagine they were here to deal with Alpha Predator One when he arrived.

From high above, he could see a number of Advanced Scout Frigates. These fast repulsorlift-powered craft sported two forward guns and were the smallest of the surface-based ships. They were good for support operations with bigger ships as they could get under enemy guns. These fish-shaped little craft made up the bulk of the battlegroup.

Among them were Heavy Destroyers, large clamshell-shaped ships with short-range pummels, laser-based weaponry that could bombard hard targets. The Heavy Destroyers sported dual pummels and were heavily armored. Used properly, they could do some serious damage.

There were also some Heavy Missile Destroyers in the battlegroup, large bulky craft armed with dual missile launchers. They were mostly used against aircraft, but Kamo supposed Alpha Predator One was big enough a target they he might as well be an aircraft while he was standing up. He just hoped whatever they were armed with was good enough to penetrate the creature's hide.

There were also a few smaller craft circling about the outside of the formation. These ships sported two frontal prongs, a large cockpit window and a smooth gliding chassis. These were Imperial Submarines, their primary function was also anti-air, but they did have some underwater weapons as well.

"Don't usually see these guys out of dock," Devo stated as he stared over the side of transport. "Looks like they're going to meet the creature on their turf, a first line of defense before he reaches the island."

"This isn't enough to stop him," Kamo observed. "I really hope they got a better plan than hitting him from the water. That's hardly the kind of change up I was hoping for."

Their transport reached the island's beach and landed just a few meters from the pounding surf. Devo limped off the aircraft, holding his shoulder as he did. Before he, Arch or Kamo got very far though, they were stopped by an Imperial Maritime Officer.

"Lieutenant Devo?" He said, looking to the injured Jumptrooper, gaining a nod and the best salute the Lieutenant could manage. "I am Captain Slaan, I am in charge of this Maritime Battlegroup."

The Captain returned his salute and let trio of Troopers stand at ease.

"How badly are you injured, Trooper?" He asked Devo.

"I'll be good as soon as I can get something to help with the pain, sir," the Lieutenant stated.

"Good to hear," Slaan replied. "Your Division redirected some Jumptrooper squads to the mock-up city. They could use your help. In fact, they'll need every Trooper's help to pull off the plan."

Kamo stepped up, offering a brief salute of his own.

"Sergeant Kamo, sir," he began. "I was one of the Troopers who survived Solar Flare Field. Sir, if I may ask, what exactly is the plan?"

"Ah, you must be the Clone Trooper I kept hearing whispers about then," Slaan stated, eyeing the sergeant. "You've done well to survive repeated engagements with this monster. We're going to need that. As to your question, it is complicated. Our task here isn't to kill the beast, it's to re-direct its path towards a trap we are assembling."

Kamo was bit confused by that. They were building a trap for this thing? He hoped it was some trap. More importantly he wondered how exactly they were going to force the monster to head towards it.

"How are we going to redirect it, sir?" Kamo asked. "We've barely managed to scratch him half the time."

"True, but General Sakal believes we can force it to change direction given the proper stimulus," Slaan explained. "It is believed the creature has a very aggressive threat response, setting its sights onto the nearest and most damaging aggressor and following them. If we can hit the creature in the right spots, we can force it to chase us and with a little luck set it on a course for the trap."

"Sounds incredibly risky," Devo noted aloud. "What's our plan of attack on this exactly?"

Slaan pointed to his battlegroup off shore, a small semblance of pride in his voice as he spoke.

"We will engage the monster first," he stated broadly. "Enough direct hits followed by a strategic withdraw should force it to move in the direction we want. When he hits landfall, the Stormtroopers that have taken up positions in the fake buildings will ambush him. We've also set up rigged explosives to go off when the monster gets near. It's our hope we will antagonize the monster enough to direct it to the Northwest where our trap lies in wait."

"That monster is going to crash into you with everything it has," Kamo informed the Captain. "Your battlegroup is going to get hit hard."

Slaan nodded sullenly, acknowledging the truth in Kamo's words. He was clearly troubled by it, but he didn't loose his sense of authority.

"I'll admit, Sergeant, the risk is extremely high," Slaan conceded sorrowfully. "I don't expect many of us will make it through this alive, not even your own people. However, if my men do our jobs right, then you won't have to take the brunt of the losses today. All we have to do is get him to start heading Northwest and we're in the clear."

"It's going to take a lot of firepower to convince that lizard to head that way and stay on that path," Devo observed. "I hope we're relying on something more than just sheer luck."

"The General wired that he has some insurance en route to assist in that," Slaan insisted. "But it may not be enough to lead the creature the way we want him to go alone. For now, we need to play to this monster's aggression, use it against him. It may be our only real advantage."

Kamo couldn't help but agree. The monster's anger was what drove it, he knew that himself. If they could use that against it, maybe they could herd him the way they wanted to. However, it all relied on how effective they were at setting him up along the path.

"Alright then, let's make this monster's rage work for us for once," he declared. "Where are our positions?"

"The assembly area is handing out datapads that will show you," Slaan informed him. "I'm told they have all the relevant information we need to know. Every inch of the plan it outlined for us. We're not taking any chances on screw ups today. You'll find the assembly area at the edge of the mock-up's main street. Just head down the path, you'll find it. I'll maintain radio contact with the ground forces at all times. Now, I better get back to my Command Ship and prepare for the assault. Good luck to you all."

Kamo watched the Captain leave them and they began their walk to the assembly area themselves. Kamo was still a bit worried about the Maritime Division starting the attack out. Slaan had confidence in his men, but he was clearly worried himself. He had just accepted that this would probably go bad. At least he wasn't like Agiri, they didn't need another one of him now. Whatever potential pitfalls there were in this plan, it was certainly better than a blind assault like they had done before.

All they had to do was force a giant rampaging lizard to go the way they wanted. As Kamo thought back to all the missions he had been on in the Clone Wars, he remembered all the near impossible tasks he and his clone brothers had managed to pull off. None of them were anywhere near this complicated though. Either this would be an operation for the history books or they'd be all incinerated when the monster got on the beach. They'd find out what fate had in store for them in a few short hours.

* * *

They'd be coming out of hyperspace soon. When that happened, Moira wanted to be one of the first fighters off the deck. It was why she was sitting in her cockpit waiting for the go. Ahsoka wanted them on point for this mission and she intended to follow that request through. It was true that she had been initially concerned about the idea of painting Star Destroyers for the orbital gun, but that unease had evaporated quickly. Her Raiders were going to be the main thrust of the attack. They'd be leading the charge, breaking the blockade apart. She always loved sticking it to the Empire's precious sense of superiority. Blowing up a good chunk of their Star Destroyer Fleet would be the biggest ego bruise against the Imps yet, especially since it would be with their own damn gun.

"We're about to exit hyperspace, boys," Moira informed her Raiders. "The second we do, we're flying right down the Empire's throat. So let's get the final systems check out of the way and our engines warmed up now, because the second we can seen real stars again we're off this deck."

"_Ro here,"_ Ro'Das answered. _"All weapons good to go. Trackers are loaded and ready for launch. Let's hope that gun carries the punch they say it does."_

"_Gorossk here,"_ the Trandoshan replied next. _"All systems online, ready for another day of hunting Imperial pilots."_

Anglyph answered next, informing Moira that Baraz was in the gunner pod. He was overly excited as ever and giggling like a maniac. Anglyph wanted to know if it was too late to get someone else to be his gunner today.

"Sorry, Anglyph," Moira reminded him. "Better you have to deal with his semi-psycho tendencies than someone else. You can handle him just fine on your own. Just keep focused on leading the bombing wing. Only way we're getting the trackers on the Destroyers is if their shields are weakened enough. No way we'll get them attached otherwise."

As Anglyph sighed over the radio, Ahsoka contacted them all over the radio.

"_Fighters, we are exiting hyperspace now,"_ she said. _"Remember, your primary targets are the Star Destroyers. Attach the trackers to them so our team controlling the Orbital Gun can blast a hole through their lines. We will hold back beyond the range of their guns as long as possible. Good luck and may the Force be with you all."_

Moira just snorted, luck, she didn't need luck. It was all skill out there, one good pilot against another. Luck rarely had anything to do with it. As hyperspace gave way to regular space, she started up the engines, lifted from the deck and rocketed out of the hangar. Her Raiders were close behind, yipping and hollering over the radio as they raced into the black void beyond.

Before long, Tsuburonda came into view, as well as the line of Star Destroyers currently in orbit around their intended landing zone. They had no doubt spotted their intrusion by now, it wouldn't be long before they started sending out TIEs. Moira could count at least three Star Destroyers blocking them and their little attack force's route to the landing zone. Three ships to blow out of the sky, three ships standing in the way of them getting to the ground. Bad odds in normal circumstances, but they had a small fleet of their own and ton of other flyers backing them up. She still needed to know what they were up against.

"Jetty," she said, contacting the droid through her comm. "We're getting into range of the Star Destroyers now. What do you see on the scope?"

"_Several fighter wings heading towards you in standard attack formation, ma'am,"_ the old battledroid reported. _"Mostly regular variants, but we're detecting a few advanced fighters among them. They're probably the flight leads. I don't think they're happy to see you."_

"What else is new?" Moira huffed aloud. "Gorossk, take a wing below their flight pattern. Attack on my order. Ro, get ready to open fire on my mark, I'll have Jetty mark the nearest advanced fighters for us. Anglyph, you and Baraz stay close to me and the other escorts. We're going to break through their fighters and hit their shield generators. Don't worry about the anti-air guns when we're close, we'll handle them."

"_Heading down now,"_ Gorossk replied. _"The Imps won't know what hit them."_

As Gorossk led a wing down beneath the opposing TIE flight pattern, Jetty contacted Moira again.

"_Ma'am, we got an incoming transmission from the lead Star Destroyer,"_ he reported.

"Patch it through to comms, Jetty," Moira said, smirking as she did. "And latch onto the transmission for me will ya?"

"_Roger, roger,"_ Jetty answered.

Within moments the transmission filled her cockpit and those of her fellow raiders, the pompous air of Imperial Superiority instantly recognizable.

"_This is Captain Malness of the Imperial Star Destroyer Otachi,"_ the Imperial declared arrogantly. _"You have violated restricted Imperial Space. You will surrender or be destroyed."_

"I'm not very fond of those options, Captain," Moira replied, opening up the comm to contact the Imperial directly. "Let me explain how this is really going to go down. We're gonna head down to that planet you're blockading and we're gonna go through you to do it. One way or another."

"_Such insolence,"_ the Captain replied indignantly. _"Your toothless threats don't scare me in the slightest. I hope enjoy being target practice, rebel scum."_

"Same to you, Imp," Moira snorted back. "Ro! Open fire!"

Ro'Das started raking shots along the TIE Flight path, aiming for the advanced fighters who were leading the wings. Moira joined him in sniping the TIEs as they began to close in. They needed to take down as many of the squadron leaders as possible in the first hit, removing the most experienced among their number. The advanced fighters tried to break formation when they were targeted, but Moira and Ro kept their focus as they attempted to disperse. Moira herself managed to land three shots into one lead pilot's cockpit, exploding the inside of the craft in a fiery ball. Ro's shots clipped the wing of another leader, causing him to spin violently into one of his wingmen.

As the gap between the two forces became smaller, Moira unleashed her next attack and called Gorossk back into the fray. The Trandoshan and several other ARC-170s, raced up from the black void below and screeched into the middle of the attack TIEs. Their lasers blasted apart many of the Imperial fighters, Gorossk himself blowing part several as he twisted and turned through the air, lighting up the sky with laser fire. He moved from one TIE to another, rocketing through their debris field as he raced up to the next one. Moira imagined he never once let up on the trigger, gleefully cutting into the bellies of the TIEs before their pilots knew what was happening.

The tactic worked to Moira's expected result. While the TIEs weren't all destroyed, the attack from below caused enough confusion among them to force their formations to break up early. As the wing formations of Rebels and Imperials met, it was the latter who found themselves in disarray. Knowing the Imperials though, Moira knew this would last long. The remaining squadron leaders would rally and start hitting back hard. They needed to use what time they had to make a break for the Star Destroyers.

"Gorossk, Ro, run screening pattern," she ordered. "We need to keep the majority of the fighters away from the bombers. Anglyph, follow me in towards the left Star Destroyer. I'm going to hit the deck guns and give you a clear approach to the Shield Generators up top. Baraz, keep watch on your six with the turret. Ro and Gorossk can't keep every TIE off our backs."

"_That sounds like a challenge,"_ the Trandoshan chuckled.

Moira rolled her eyes a bit at Gorossk's hunt talk, he always got all competitive during attacks.

"Just be ready to bring it in when I call you," Moira warned. "The second the Imps figure out our game, they're going to shift tactics. So let's make this first run count."

Kicking in the boosters, Moira took off towards their first target. Anglyph kept up with her from behind, his Y-Wing bomber leading the attack formation. Moira knew there would be a few TIEs in reserve around the Destroyers themselves to protect them from attacks, so getting past that screen of fighters would be their first major obstacle. The next would be the guns, but she'd take care of enough to give Anglyph the shot he needed.

It didn't take long before Moira spotted a squadron of fighters blocking her path. As they opened up on her, she turned hard up on the stick, forcing herself into a loop. The g-forces strained against her body as she pulled up, flipped around and began diving back towards her targets. Her ARC-170 was facing the tops of the TIEs now, perfect targets. She strafed fire across their path, cutting into them from above. She destroyed two on her way down, winged a third and sped past the rest. Jamming the stick back hard, she turned her fighter back around to face the back sides of the TIEs from below this time. They were still on an interception course for Anglyph's bombers.

"Great, Imps with a concept of focus," she grumbled. "Just what I need."

She boosted back up towards the TIEs, screaming in form behind. She laid down a torrent of laser fire, ripping into the rear of one TIE and causing it to explode. She then switched targets and shot off the wing of a second TIE. As she was lining up her third shot though, green laser bolts streamed from above. An Advanced Fighter, probably the Squadron Leader.

"Damn, forgot to look for him," she growled as she turned the ARC-170 to the left.

The TIE sped past her as she avoided his dive. She then boosted away, trying to catch up to the remaining TIEs. As she closed in on her targets, she watched as Anglyph's bomber opened up. He fired two blasts that punctured the cockpit of one TIE, causing it to explode. He then lurched the bomber to the side to avoid another series of shots as he fired back his own and caught the offending TIE in the fuel cell. The little fighter exploded moments later. Moira heard Baraz screaming over the radio moments later, complaining about Anglyph messing up his shot. The Ithorian just grumbled back at the Jawa and leveled out the bomber.

Baraz went back to shooting, firing on screeching TIEs coming in from above. With amazing precision, the little hooded desert rat managed to blast three of the Imperial Fighters from the sky with ease. Their little wings got systematically clipped, their fuel cells ruptured and one TIE even got a direct hit to his laser cannon. A second shot had them backfire and destroy the TIE with its own weapon.

As Moira admired the little Jawa's skills though, she took a hit to her rear shields. The Advanced Fighter was back on her tail and pursuing once more. Moira had an idea on how to shake him, but she needed Baraz to pull it off.

"Baraz, I'm coming alongside you guys," she said as she kicked the boosters into gear. "I got their flight lead on me, take him down."

Baraz offered a snickering little giggle in response, his way of saying, "With pleasure" as far as she was aware. Moira raced past the Y-Wing, the advanced fighter in pursuit. A series of shots came from Baraz's turret, ripping into the wing facing him. Fire and smoke billowed out from the damaged energy arrays, causing the fighter to lurch from side to side. Moira took the chance to pull a one-eighty turn and barrel back down the injured fighter's throat. She fired a constant stream of lasers into the enemy pilot's face and in the next second she was flying through his smoking debris field. She eased out her speed in front of Anglyph and Baraz's bomber.

"We got a straight shot now boys," she stated. "I'm going for the turrets on the deck, follow me in!"

They dove towards the Star Destroyer now. She raked laser fire across its deck. She knew her guns wouldn't do much against its armor or its shields, but she could still target the turrets. They had to fire through the shields after all. Moira managed to destroy three anti-air guns on the deck as she swooped in low. She pulled up and targeted one of the shield generators on the top of the Destroyer. She armed two missiles and fired them at the big white dome. As she broke off she caught the tail end of an explosion ripping the dome of the destroyer apart.

"I got one for ya," Moira told Anglyph. "Focus on two! Hit it hard and then rake the deck!"

The Y-Wings closed within range and then launched their payload, sending torpedoes rocketing towards the shield generator. A huge explosion ripped the dome apart within moments. Now the Destroyer's shields were low enough for a track to get through. Following the plan, Anglyph's bomber wing turned and dropped a payload of proton bombs across the deck of ship. This wasn't to destroy though, it was to distract the remaining anti-air guns. While they were trying to shoot the Y-Wings down, Moira turned back and aimed her crosshairs along the hull of the ship.

"Firing one!" She shouted.

Her ARC-170 shot a tracker device out of its nose. The little beacon sped through the void, passed through the weakened shield and latched itself onto the Star Destroyer's hull. Within moments it began transmitting back to Moira's computer.

"Beacon lit, everyone clear out of here!" She ordered the nearby bombers, she then switched her comm channel. "Fulcrum, we got a signal! Jetty should be transmitting it now to your team groundside. Let them have it!"

"_Will do, Moira,"_ Ahsoka assured. _"Orbital Cannon has confirmed they have the shot. Stand by."_

Moira looked out behind her ship's cockpit as they flew away from the Star Destroyer. Moments later, a huge red beam cut through the void, speeding up from the planet before slicing into the side of the Imperial Ship. The blast ripped the hull apart as explosion rippled throughout the port side of the ship. The Star destroyer began to list to the side, smoking heavily as fires raged. It wasn't dead, but it was crippled.

"Direct hit!" Shouted with glee through the radio. "Target one badly damaged! Someone get another Tracker on her so the next shot can finish her off!"

"_Moving into range now, Moira,"_ Ro's voice came over the comm. _"I'm gonna aim for the Conning Tower. That should finish it."_

The Star Destroyer was still reeling from the attack, so Ro'Das had no trouble flying in and latching another tracker onto the ship. As he flew out though, TIEs screeched after him, firing at him from behind. Lucky for Ro, Gorossk flew down from above, cutting through the pair of TIEs flying in parallel formation to his friend's backside. Twin blasts from his lasers took care of the fighters easily and both of the Raiders joined Moira shortly after.

"_What do we do while we wait for the next shot, boss?"_ Gorossk asked Moira.

"Help the other fighters," she replied. "Pick out some TIEs and hit them hard. Empire is going to reposition their pilots to defend the Star Destroyers rather than attack. We need to thin their numbers if we're going to stand a shot at getting close to the next guy. They know our bombers aren't the real threat, but it won't take them long to figure out how their friends got blasted by their own gun."

"_Good,"_ Gorossk declared. _"I need to add a few more Imps to my scorecard. I'm beating Ro by the way."_

"_Only by two so far, lizard,"_ Ro huffed at him.

"Knock off the chatter you two," Moira ordered. "More TIEs ahead. Rip'em apart!"

They joined the nearby fray between the various Rebel and Imperial fighters. They were going to need to save as many of Fulcrum's people as they could if they were going to hit the next Star Destroyer as easily as the first. So far everything was going as planned, but Moira knew that the plan was only a third complete. A lot could go wrong before those other two Destroyers went down after all. At least the gun could do its job, that they knew. Moira just smirked just thinking about how the Imps were handling this. Their own weapon had been turned against them. If that didn't put a dent in Captain Malness' ego, nothing would. Except maybe getting incinerated by Orbital Gun himself, of course.

* * *

Godzilla could see the little human ships in the distance, armed to the teeth with heavy weapons. They looked nothing like the ships from home, in fact he wasn't sure most of them were even touching the water. It didn't matter, they had to be taken care of if he was to press on. There was still much to do on this new world and he could not be hindered.

As he watched the ships move about the waters, he thought back to Earth, back to the humans who had sent him here. They had gathered a fleet unlike any seen before, mustering all their weaponry together out of spite. Then they sent that crude mechanical visage of himself out to attack him. He had encountered that robotic mockery several times, mostly during one of his attacks on the mainland. That thing had prevented him a number of times from enacting his vengeance and had done so against others of his kind. That day was different though, they had it come after him.

Before he had amused his double, holding back as he refused to treat him as a foe worthy of his full power. Sometimes he retreated, tiring of the fight. Other times he managed to beat the machine with a fraction of his power, he took pleasure in that. But openly attacking him, on his territory? That was the final straw. He was done playing with the oversized toy. When Godzilla was done, his double wasn't just defeated, it was broken, torn apart, scrap.

The humans always sought to use their technology in such a manner, to prove their superiority and flaunt their arrogance. They made his double in attempt to do just that, to show that they were stronger than him, that their machines and weapons could triumph over him and the rest of his kind. They thought themselves so clever for being able to create such things, their tanks, their planes, their ships. All tools of war they used against him and each other whenever the mood struck them. They never thought about the consequences, only in their own selfish need for power, not understanding what it really meant.

The weapon that had sent him here was built with that in mind, another attempt to kill him. He had felt its power as they activated it, more than even the weapon they had used so many years ago. Just as that one, they had made this weapon without thinking, playing at God like they always did. All because they needed to get rid of him, because they couldn't accept his existence, they never had. It reminded them perhaps, of their own sins maybe. So they put faith in a giant gun to end it for them, to make their sin go away, as if it would wipe their hands clean.

It had failed of course, merely transplanting his vengeance to another world. Although this planet did have advantages. The power he absorbed from the reactor, it had rejuvenated him, made him even stronger. He could feel it even now, coursing through his body. He wondered if that had changed anything, he had never soaked up so much radiation before. Not since that day long ago at least, even that paled in comparison. In fact, he could sense even greater power, resonating over him, around him. He could feel it there, but it was strangely faint and he didn't know why. With no way to know where the power was, he could not siphon it. Perhaps in time, he would learn the source.

Still, the new planet was crawling with another set of humans, as depraved and guilty as any he had fought before. These white-clad soldiers, they placed their faith in their technology, used it to cement power for themselves. He knew they were just as destructive, selfish and arrogant as those who had sent him here. It was just their nature, as it was his nature to reveal their folly unto them. The humans from home hadn't be able to confine him like the others and neither would these humans. He would not yield in his mission, they would.

That was not an excuse to act blindly though. His rage against the double and the ships waiting for him had kept him from thinking clearly. He should've been able to destroy their weapon before it activated, probably taken it out first if he hadn't been so focused on the ships. This time he would not be so distracted. Within his lookout among the rocks, he decided upon a course of action, one that would show the white-clad army how small they truly were yet again. He'd obliterate their fleet of hovering ships and move onto the city they were guarding on the island.

Different planet, different day, same old story. It was the nature of things, as it should be.

* * *

Kamo watched the battlegroup from high above in their fake building, waiting for word of Alpha Predator One's approach. The probes had last seen him in this area on track for the island and the mockup city. He had to be close.

"Maybe he's afraid of water," Arch suggested.

"I doubt that thing is afraid of anything," Kamo responded with a huff.

"Yeah, we aren't that lucky," Arch admitted.

Outside of the monster, Kamo's mind couldn't help but think of the mockup building they were inside. It made no sense, why build a training ground this big? What were they setting up here? He imagined it had something to do with that big science facility on the other side of the planet. It wasn't his place to question, but he couldn't help wondering. Maybe it was just more of the disparate thoughts swimming around in his head, the ones he had since the other night about that shadow on the airfield. He kept trying to push them down, but that creature kept dragging them up every time he looked in his direction. Kamo just couldn't shake fact that what he saw wasn't a coincidence, not with that thing stomping around.

Maybe once this thing was dead, once this lizard was no longer giving accusatory glares, he could figure things out. That is if they could kill this thing. He had to trust that this trap they were setting up for it would be good enough to pull that off. Kamo however was wondering if they really understood what they were up against here. He didn't want to sound insubordinate, but sometimes he wondered if he could really trust all of command's decisions. Agiri was just one example of a long list of people who had treated him poorly.

All those comments he had made, those vicious put downs, calling him a lab experiment, he had heard them all before. It was why he had never gotten very angry with Agiri, he was nothing new. As soon as the advanced aging kicked in, the Empire he fought to bring about forgot about him. They didn't care, he wasn't needed, end of story. Everything he had done didn't matter, he was just some test tube human grown in a vat now, not a soldier. The war he'd been built for was over and so was he. He wondered if anyone in the higher ups even cared.

After all he had done, what he had seen, what he sacrificed for them and they just forgot about him. That wasn't what they promised when the Empire was still the Republic. He took on the chin though, just let it slide. Mostly because he was still allowed to be the military despite being declared a relic. Now though, the anger was cropping back up. That shadow kept nagging on his mind and it kept making him think more about what he had done, the greatest sacrifice he had ever made for the Empire. For a long time he just wanted to forget it, but now things had changed. He kept thinking about how he had felt nothing and said nothing in the temple, how it hadn't hit him until later. And was bringing up a few questions he had no answers to, much like this mockup town.

Like he said, he didn't believe it was a coincidence that Alpha Predator One had appeared at the same time as that shadow. At the same time these questions cropped up. And those eyes just kept looking at him with the same accusatory glare, that angry, vicious, soul-burning stare. He knew there was something behind those eyes, something more than a bloodthirsty animal. He wanted something, but Kamo didn't know what and the not knowing frightened him even more.

"Hey," Devo spoke up suddenly, breaking Kamo out of his thoughts. "Something is out on the water."

Devo passed his macrobinoculars to Kamo and the clone trooper looked out past the battle fleet. He saw something barreling through the water beneath the waves. It was heading straight for the ships.

"He's here," Kamo glowered, his eyes narrowing.

* * *

The wake in the water grew larger with each passing second. As it neared the fleet, gunners lined up their weapons with the wake, knowing the enemy they had been waiting for was closing in. None of them had faced the monster before, but they had heard plenty of stories about its rampage. For this reason, none of them broke eye contact with the wake for even an instant.

The waves soon crested to their peak and a series of dorsal spines poked out of the water. The jagged fins cut through the sea, heading straight for the ships. One of the Advanced Scout Captains shouted to his gunners as the spines approached.

"Brace yourselves! He's closing in!"

No one dared fire though, not until they were sure they had a clear shot. Their briefing warned them that going for the body was useless, they needed to hit the head or nothing at this point. They all got ready for impact instead, expecting the monster to ram them with his spines. Ships moved further back or attempted to get out of the way. Then, the spines just stopped, mere meters away from the ships at the edge of the battlegroup. The Imperials aboard were stunned, confused as to why the monster had stopped so short. By the time they looked to their sonar screens for an answer, the monster gave it to them.

The spines lifted up out of the water, revealing that they weren't on the creature's back but his tail. Alpha Predator One was under them at this very moment and he was starting to surface. As the water lurched upwards from the monster's approach, ships were pushed aside in the surf. The lucky ones just smashed into each other as they were tossed around in the waves. The unlucky ones were those closer to the epicenter.

The Monster's head was rising snout first, jaws wide open. It's maw ejected out of the deep and crunched down on a Heavy Missile Destroyer in the middle of the battlegroup. As it snapped apart in his teeth, the monster crashed his head into another of the Missile Destroyers beside him. He headed back under, but only briefly, before exploding once more from the violently and bitting the tip of the bow and holding it in his mouth.

Then, with the ship still entrapped in his jaws, he rose up out of the water. His dorsal spines impaled or caught many of the small ships nearby. They fired their weapons at him, the Heavy Destroyers hit him with both pummels, but it did little to hurt Alpha Predator One. He shook the captured ships off his back and let them crash back down into the water from high above.

Now standing on the sea floor, the water surrounding the monster looked more like a shallow pool than a deep body of water. He dropped the Missile Destroyer in his jaws down onto a pair of Heavy Destroyers below, crushing all three ships in a mess of mangled metal. He then roared at the small ships below and they responded by firing everything they had left at him.

Heavy Destroyers circled around, firing their pummels into the monster's lower arms. It did little to force the beast back down into the surf. The Advanced Scout ships were practically useless, their weapons unable to even phase the lizard. The creature swished his tail across the water once, sending a minature tidal wave hurtling through the battlegroup. If the giant waves didn't capsize the ships, the tail smashed them apart.

The Missile Destroyers were more effective, managing to get their projectiles to strike the monster in the face. The initial attack had destroyed most of them, but there were still enough to force the creature to take notice. The reptile reached down and grabbed the launcher off of one of the Destroyers, ripping it from the ship itself. He then tossed it down, missiles and all towards the ships below. The explosion ripped apart a Missile Destroyer, sending debris flying every where as the rest of its forward magazine erupted.

The Lizard continued to devastate the small fleet, smashing his great fist down onto ships or splitting them in two with a thwack of his tail. The monster's spines then began to glow bright blue before it fired a blazing beam of energy that ripped through several of the ships still in front of him.

Out of direct line of sight from, Captain Slaan kept watch on the battle through the images a probe droid was feeding him. He hadn't expected the monster to surface inside the battlegroup, an error on his part he admitted. He'd have to push up his time table or risk losing the entire battlegroup.

"Submarine crews, move into position along the perimeter of the battlegroup," he ordered through the comm. "Fire at the creatures legs from below the surface, try to get him to drop back down into the surf. We need to buy some time to get into firing range."

Submarines sped through the deep from around one side of the island towards Alpha Predator One. As they got into range, their sonar picked the monster. They readied torpedo tubes as they approached, taking aim near the creature's joints.

"Fire all tubes at once and reload," the lead sub pilot told the others. "When he sticks his head down, we're gonna fire another volley down his gullet."

When they closed within range, the subs fired torpedos. They ejected out of the launch bays and rushed through the water towards the monster's leg. When they collided with the beast's scales, the blasts sent up plumes of water into the sky. Alpha Predator One roared aloud in anger and just as quickly ducked his head below the waves. The sub pilots looked on in horror as the beast's yellow eyes narrowed on them.

"Fire! Quick, everyone, fire!"

Fresh torpedos rushed out at the monster, intending to strike him in the face. Instead, the monster slammed his claws into the sea bed and churned up a screen of stone and rocks. Most of the torpedos crashed harmlessly into the torn up sea floor, what did hit the giant lizard was inconsequential. The sub pilots kept trying to see behind the dust and boulders, but couldn't.

"Where's the target?" One asked. "Anyone got a visual?"

They got said visual moments later, when the beast swam through the torn up sea floor right at them. The lead sub pilot's eyes went wide behind his visor.

"Surface! Surface! All subs surface!"

The subs tried to flee from the monster's underwater charge, racing towards the surface or moving out of the creature's were lucky, others were not. The subs that weren't fast enough found themselves run down by the lizard's furious swimming, crushed against his girth or sliced open by his dorsal fins.

The subs rushed to the surface and high-tailed it towards the battlegroup. As they did so, the monster breached the surface himself and began chasing after the subs. At least he wasn't in the middle of the battlegroup anymore, so they could more effectively unleash their fire power on the reptile as he waded through the water. The subs could do the same, as the monster chased them, they switched their weapons to the anti-air missile launchers.

"Fire everything, boys, keep him back!"

Missiles swarmed out of the subs' launchers, cascading down onto the monster in rapid succession. Hitting him mostly in the eyes, it forced the monster to slow. However, it didn't need to catch up with them to hurt them. Keeping its mouth closed, the beast charged his energy beam up before opening his mouth and delivering a powerful blast. The beam cut through the water in front of the Subs, cutting them off from the safety of the battlegroup. The monster kept firing, boiling the water with his breath, aim further back towards the subs.

"Dive! Dive!" The lead pilot ordered.

The subs did so, although too late for at least five of them. The beam destroyed them before they could get too deep. The angry lizard refused to let up though, burning the sea red with fiery breath. When suddenly, something slammed into his face and exploded, halting his beam attack. The monster shut his mouth instantly, not wanting to leave himself exposed. The remaining ships' crews looked back to see a large vessel moving through the waves.

"It's the Captain," shouted one of the Missile Destroyer crewmen. "Thank the Emperor."

Captain Slaan's vessel was no ordinary ship. It was a retrofitted old battleship, armed with three missile launchers and six mass driver guns, each attached in pairs to three turrets. The battleship coasted along repulsorlifts with three hydrofoil skiffs helping it to coast through the waters. It had a pointed bow and a large Conning Tower near the stern. Standing near the controls of the battleship was Slaan himself, giving the monster his own menacing glare.

"I knew this captured Trade Federation Advanced Battleship would see its day eventually," he stated. "Never thought it would be like this, but beggars can't be choosers. We've spent over sixteen years upgrading this old girl, time to show this lizard what it can do! Send the Vultures out first, distract him, then open up with every gun on deck!"

A compartment in the middle of the battleship opened wide, racing out of it were several old Trade Federation Vulture Droid Fighters. These little two pronged fighters had once been the servants of the Separatists, but now they only answered to Slaan and the battleship's control node. The flying robots fired on the monster's face, going for the eyes and throat. The beast tried to swat them out of the air as they approached, but it was like trying to swat flies.

As the monster tried to fend off the annoying pests, he was hit with more rockets and mass driver shots. They hit the monster hard, striking him all along the upper torso and face. Slaan looked on relatively pleased, but he remembered the mission. He wasn't to risk his men trying to kill this beast, only antagonize it.

"Alright battlegroup, pull back to the Northwest and let this bastard chase us," he ordered. "Keep firing and keep him preoccupied. Do not let him disengage."

The battlegroup's remaining ships turned hard back around, trying to join Slaan's battleship as they retreated. They fired on the monster as they did so, refusing to let up their barrage. The monster roared after them, absorbing their shots. When suddenly, it started to drop towards the water. It was diving again. The subs spotted him swimming for them soon after, following Slaan's orders, they fired some torpedoes and turned to flee. The beast fired an energy blast from his mouth in return, obliterating the projectiles, tearing through the subs and then exploding out of the water to decimate another Heavy Missile Destroyer.

The monster's dorsal fins breached the surface again, cutting through the waves as it closed on the battlegroup. The ships fired on the spines, to little avail. Those that could not get out of the way were cut in two by the spines. A large hand shot out of the water suddenly and grabbed onto a Heavy Destroyer, pulling it under. The monster's fins then cut through the rest of the battlegroup in his way and the titanic reptile pulled himself out of the deep once more. He stared down at the battleship below.

"Open fire! All Mass Drivers! All Missiles!" Slaan ordered his crew. "Get him away from what's left of our ships!"

Even as attacks hit the reptile hard, the monster just roared at the vessel and slung his arm towards it. He released the Heavy Destroyer he had grabbed before and like a large flying disk, sent it hurtling towards the batteship. It crashed into the deck, destroying two of the mass driver turrets before it careened off the port side.

The droid fighters raced after the creature. They began firing at the back of the monster's head, raking him with laser bolts, trying to get him to disengage from the battleship. The monster just turned towards them. He then reached down and pulled a Missile Destroyer from the waves. He tossed the giant ship towards the fighters, charging up his beam as he did. When the destroyer was in the middle of the fighters he fired, letting the explosion of the ship's armaments destroy the droids in a massive fireball.

The creature then raised its tail and let its tip crash down onto the battleship itself. The swipe destroyed one of the hydrofoils, snapping it off like a twig. The ship began to list, but it didn't stop shooting. Blasts cascaded into the lizard's back, forcing him to turn back all the way around. He waded through the water towards the now crippled ship, his snarl clearly visible to Slaan. His men kept firing, but the beast didn't stop approaching. Damaged as they were, they couldn't turn the ship around and start running. They were taking on water fast and their weapons were down to near half.

Slaan picked up the comm.

"Land team, sorry to say we blew it," he stated as he watched a missile cruise into the beast's face, the monster barely even flinching. "It's up to you now. Remember, get him to head Northwest, get him on the path to the trap."

The massive reptilian raised both his fists above him as he approached the battleship, still firing defiantly.

"At least my boys finally got their day," Slaan declared. "Good luck, Troopers. For the Emp-"

The monster's fists crashed down on the ship, breaking it in two.

* * *

Kamo had watched the whole fight unfold in disbelief. The Maritime Division had given it all they had, but it wasn't enough to hold Alpha Predator One back long enough for the plan to be completed. The monster roared proudly as it raised the tattered remains of Slaan's Battleship over his head and tossed it away like garbage nose first into the water.

The monster then submerged back into the water and continued swimming, more than likely towards the island. Kamo looked to Devo and Arch, who appeared just as concerned as he was.

"Alright, down to us then," the Clone said grimly. "No pressure."

"Just get ready to blow the explosives when he gets near," Devo informed him. "Let's not be heroes here, people. We just need to get him to divert to the Northwest, not stop him."

"No argument here," Arch agreed.

Suddenly they heard something approaching the island fast, they looked out and saw a rising tide moving towards them. A tsunami, headed right for their fake little town. The buildings could probably hold out against it, but the Troopers on the streets below wouldn't.

"Everyone," Devo shouted through the radio. "Get inside! Now!"

The wave hit the shore and kept traveling towards the fake city, engulfing the beach, the trees and then hitting the streets hard. Kamo watched as Troopers ran for cover inside the buildings, trying to outrun the incoming tidal shift. some made it inside, but there were a few squads who hadn't. The wall of water crushed any who weren't fast enough to get inside, taking them along for the ride. The mock city streets were suddenly a small series of rivers, with dead or drowning Stormtroopers floating in it.

That was when the monster made landfall, announcing his presence to all as he stomped onto the wet sandy beach. He footsteps shook the earth even more than the tsunami, stomping towards their position. Kamo readied his missile launcher.

"Alright," he said. "Come and get us then."

* * *

Rebels fighters and TIEs engaged each other in a furious dance of laser fire. TIEs soon started pulling back, attempting to get back to the Star Destroyers to protect them. However, they took a bit of a toll on the Rebel Fighters, blasting a number of them out of the sky before they pulled back. Moira watched as many of their fellow pilots were blown out of the starry skies, the Imps racing through their debris fields. Imperial Pilots didn't always have the best fighters, but they did have professional training or at least good enough to be a threat.

Moira chased after the fleeing TIEs with her crew, refusing to give them a moment's rest. One of them was particularly hard to pin down, as he kept swerving away from her shots. Frustrated, she called in for some help from her team.

"Ro, slice pattern on my target," she ordered. "We need to cut off his escape routes."

"_I see him, Moira,"_ Ro assured her. _"Coming in on your left."_

Ro's ARC-170 raced down from the clouds, firing a blaze of lasers along the TIE's path. The Imp quickly turned to avoid the incoming shots, heading into Moira's crosshairs. As she managed to wing the Imperial, he turned again, but Ro had already settled into a firing position and opened up once more. For the next few seconds, Moira and Ro crisscrossed one another's path, keeping fire on the fleeing TIE. The Imp was quickly boxed in, with nowhere to go. If he tried to go down, Ro followed. If he went up, Moira followed. With two enemies on his tail, firing every which way he turned the Imp couldn't get away. It wasn't long before Moira managed to deliver a furious barrage of laser bolts straight to the TIE's backside.

As the TIE's remained tumbled through the black void, a large blazing beam shot up from the planet below. The Orbital Gun had recharged and it's second shot of the battle sliced clean through the crippled Star Destroyer's Engines and came out beneath the Conning Tower. The Imperial Spaceship erupted in a massive explosion and began to break up. Finally, the first Imperial Ship was out of the game. Now they could turn attention to the second Star Destroyer on the opposite side of the combat zone.

"Alright, they're gonna be ready for us," Moira warned. "What's our casualties so far?"

"_So far, sixteen fighters among our own Raiders,"_ Gorossk cautioned. _"Fulcrum's people have lost a whole squadron already."_

"Damn, at this rate we'll be down a quarter of our strength by the time we get the next Destroyer," Moira grunted. "And you just know Malness has already called for reinforcements. We need to speed this up or we'll be overrun. I'm calling Fulcrum."

Moira switched comm channels, contacting the main assault command ship where Ahsoka was no doubt watching the battle unfold.

"Fulcrum, I think we need to switch up the plan a bit here," Moira told her. "You got some ideas?"

"_I do,"_ the Togruta assured. _"We need to keep the Empire guessing, split their fighters up. I'm sending half our forces towards the Otachi and the other half to the Destroyer beside it. We can't let them figure out which one we're going to target first."_

"You think the Imps have figured out how exactly they're being targeted?" Moira asked.

That was when Jetty got on the line.

"_We've picked up a communication sent from the first Star Destroyer to the Otachi just before they got blasted into oblivion ma'am," _the droid informed her. _"They said they had detected an unauthorized transmission coming from outside on their hull. They got cut off before they could say more, but they probably know what we're doing by now."_

"Then we gotta work fast and make sure the next shot from the Orbital Gun is a kill," Moira declared, before she opened the comm to the rest of her fighters. "All Raiders, reform up on me. We're going to hit that second Star Destroyer. Keep Anglyph's bombers covered on our approach, we'll need them to bust through the shield."

Gorossk and Ro soon joined Moira as she positioned herself over Anglyph's bomber wing. The other Raiders got into attack formation as well and followed Moira towards their new target. The Star Destroyer opened up with its turbolasers as they approached. At their current distance it was still sporadic and not terribly accurate, but that would change the closer they got. The anti-air fire was there for one purpose at this point, so that the Raiders wouldn't have their full range of maneuverability and the TIEs would have a better shot at bringing them down.

The Imperial Fighters swooped in on the approaching Raiders, taking three down on their approach. Moira cursed aloud as she watched some of her boy get blown out of the sky. She got on the comm and quickly issued new orders.

"Don't bunch up people, spread out, be evasive, but stay on target," she commanded. "We're almost in range."

Moira fired back on some of the approaching TIEs heading towards her. Laser fire streamed between her ship and the Imps, criss-crossing through the void. She made sure to roll her craft, doing her best not to present a stable target while remaining on course. She managed to blow away two of her attackers, only taking minor damage to her shields.

As they got closer to the Destroyer though, Moira realized that splitting their forces wouldn't be enough. They had the top deck too well covered with fighter escort and their anti-air was blanketing key sections of their approach. It was time to switch tactics again.

"Raiders, break up in twos, half and half," she ordered. "Some wings go to port, others starboard side. We'll converge on the Conning Tower near the back. Avoid the flight deck, we need to split their gunners up. I got Starboard. Gorossk, you're with me. Anglyph, have your bombers follow us in. Ro, lead the Port side attack. Go!"

The formation split in two, each new flight of several squadrons heading towards separate sides of the Star Destroyer. Moira's plan was simple, hit both Shield generators at the same time from two different angles. The fighters and gunners would have to split their focus to interrupt both incoming angles. That would give them a better shot at taking the generators down.

As they eased into their attack run, circling around the Star Destroyer, a number of Advanced TIEs barreled in from the right. Moira could spot them on her sensors and locked eyes with them.

"Stick with the bombers people," she ordered. "Do not let them draw us away. We have to stay on target, no matter what."

That didn't mean they wouldn't engage, Moira was already angling towards an intercept pattern for the TIEs, as was Gorossk. She made sure it wouldn't deviate from her flight pattern though, it was key that they all remain on target. She fired along their approach vector when they got into range, Gorossk did the same. The TIEs took evasive action, breaking off their attack. Gorossk kept after his TIE, however, managing to hit it several times in the wing. The shots caused the TIE to catch fire sending it hurtling out of control for a moment or two before it exploded. Gorossk hissed a laugh, and quickly returned to formation.

"_Sorry yours got away, boss,"_ he apologized to Moira.

"Plenty to choose from, Gorossk," she assured him. "Now focus, we need to get to the generator. Anglyph, form your wings up for an attack run on the target. All wings, cover their vector!"

Anglyph's Y-Wing moved into position, aiming for the shield generator. The rest of his wing followed, switching to torpedoes as they approached. Moira and Gorossk put up a screen of fire, doing their best to keep TIEs off them.

However, even with a wall of lasers covering them, some of the Imps managed to get fighters sped through the screen as it claimed one of their wingmen, racing towards the bombers. Green lasers caught Anglyph's ship and he looked up in anger before turning to Baraz to complain. The Jawa growled back and turned his turret to the sky. Red filled the void as Baraz fired off as many shots as he could at the approaching TIEs. He managed to score two shots that slammed into the cockpit of the Imp fighter. The resulting explosion tore it apart.

The second TIE moved to the side, but Baraz followed him, chattering away as he did. Anglyph didn't appreciate it, but he just kept his focus on the generator. Baraz managed to clip the TIE once, but it wasn't enough to put it down. The TIE came back again at full throttle. Baraz steeled his gaze and let loose a blaze of red laser bolts intended to go right down the Imp's throat. The shots hit the TIE in the wing, interrupting his approach vector and rolled off to the left. Baraz tracked him, heading the TIE off as it turned. His bolts managed to strike the Imp in the top of his cockpit, ripping it clean open. The resulting explosion made the Jawa laugh uproariously, which in turn made Anglyph grab at the sides of his head.

The Itohrian did his best to ignore Baraz's self-congratulatory victory screech and activate the targeting computer. He was now in spitting distance of the generator and intended to make his shots count. Once the lock was established he called out to the other bombers to launch their tubes. The generator took three hits and erupted in a fireball.

"Bank right, bank right!" Moira ordered. "Get behind the Destroyer!"

The whole flight moved right, moving to the stern of the starship. Ro's flight joined soon after, Moira looked back towards the Destroyer and saw that both of its generators were gone. They had gotten the shields down, but that didn't make their job any easier.

"Status on the flight deck, Ro?" She asked.

"_Imps are prepping for us to target the bridge, same as last time,"_ Ro'Das warned. _"We move in that way, we're dead."_

Not an option, but it didn't matter. Moira had already ruled out the frontal attack. She considered attacking the stern, but hitting the engines wasn't a guarantee of a kill. With the longer wait time between gun shots, they needed to make the first blast count.

"Then we switch up the game plan," Moira informed her squadron. "Our friends below need a kill shot anyway. Only way we're getting that is if we give them a critical point to target. We need to head below, get a tracker stuck on the middle of the ship."

"_Get under the prey and strike the soft underbelly," _Gorossk hissed happily. _"I like it, boss. Lets do it!"_

"Anglyph, take the bombers back towards the combat zone, I'll send most of the squadrons with you as cover," Moira ordered. "Pretend you're getting ready for an attack run. Ro, Gorossk and me will go under the Destroyer while they're worried about you. Then we stick'em!"

The formation broke up as they headed back to the Star Destroyer. The bombers headed off in one direction and Moira's squadron headed below. While not as well protected as topside, the bottom hull wasn't unguarded. Turrets below opened fire, raking bolts across their approach. The ARC-170s pulled evasive, dodging the incoming shots. Moira, being the lead, got the worst of it, her shields barely holding up against the barrage.

"Gorossk, Ro, get these gunners off of me!" She shouted through the comm.

Ro and Gorrosk moved into position, firing on the turbolaser turrets above them. As the guns vanished in fiery explosions, Moira kept racing towards the middle of the Star Destroyer. She was almost there when she started taking fire from behind. She turned her head to see an Advanced TIE chasing her.

"Oh, I almost forgot about you," she grumbled, thinking this was the same one she had lost before.

She kept moving her fighter about, refusing to give the Imp a decent target. Problem was with all the running around she couldn't concentrate on her real mission. She saw she was coming up on the hangar and that a number of TIEs were currently flying out of it, heading straight for her.

"And now we have late comers to the part, yay!" She growled sardonically, suddenly though her mind's gears started working overtime and she hit upon an idea "Alright, their funeral then. Along with everyone else on that Star Destroyer."

She pulled up, heading towards the hangar which was more than likely unshielded while the TIEs were heading out. She opened up on the TIEs coming for her, firing into one and ripping his wings off. She dodged the other one and hoped it would crash into her pursuer. No such luck, as the Advanced TIE moved out of his comrade's way and kept after Moira.

"I think I've already mentioned today that I really hate Imps with a concept of focus," she grumbled.

She blasted up into the hangar, the Advanced TIE still chasing her. Moira circled her ARC-170 around the hangar bay, coming back around towards the Imp fighter. It started laying down laser bolts as it spun, firing blasts as it targeted the Raider leader, but Moira got her crosshairs on him first.

"Stuff this up your exhaust port, Imp!" Moira taunted as she flicked up a switch on her joystick and fired a heat seeker missile.

The projectile shot across the hangar bay and collided with the TIE as it tried to run away. Moira grinned and then set about her real task. She pointed her nose up to the ceiling and fired a tracker at it. One problem solved, now she just needed to get out of here.

"Hey, Fulcrum, I got them tagged," she said. "Can you give me like three minutes to get out of here?"

"_Get out?"_ Ahsoka asked in return, confused by the request. _"Where are you?"_

Moira looked down as she turned her ship around and saw several Stormtroopers running onto the deck. They were all pointing their blasters right p at her.

"Middle of a Fire Wasp nest," she replied. "I'll get back to ya."

The laser bolts started firing, as the Stormtroopers started shooting up at her. Moira boosted away, avoiding the incoming fire and then turned back around. She let loose with a volley of laser bolts, blowing away the troopers with relative ease. She didn't stop shooting, she needed to cut the power to the hangar's security shield. She found it just a few feet up the wall. She zeroed in on it and fired on it with another missile. The blast took out the power to the security shield, giving her a way out. Moira pulled the fighter into a dive and ducked out the ship. As she met open space, she kicked in the afterburners and boosted away from the Star Destroyer.

"Everyone, get clear! Now!"

The fighters pulled away and not two seconds before they got to a safe distance did a huge red beam crash into the underside of the Star Destroyer. A fireball exploded out through the center of the ship, tearing the ship in two. The Conning Tower crumbled apart, pieces of the hull broke free and the bow of the ship dipped down towards the planet below. As the starship burned, Moira's squadron formed back up.

"_Two down,"_ Gorossk stated aloud.

"No time for pats on the back, boys," Moira informed him. "We've still got to deal with the the Otachi and Captain Malness. Who is probably screaming up a storm right now. Form up on my wing, let's finish this!"

* * *

Alpha Predator One smashed into the mock city, crushing one of the buildings with a swipe of his arm. He seemed confused at first at how easy the building crumbled, but he kept on marching through the streets undeterred. Kamo wasn't frightened off either, he took aim with his missile launcher and fired. The blast struck the beast in the eye, along with several other projectiles. The creature was visibly shaken, but unsure of which way to direct his wrath. Devo's strategy was working, don't give the monster one place to focus his rage on.

"Good, now we lead him towards the first explosive charge," Devo ordered. "I'll have teams one through four lead him over. We trigger, collapse the fake building on him and reposition for the next charge. Rinse and repeat until we got him headed Northwest."

"Yeah, easy enough," Arch chuckled nervously. "So long as we don't get pancaked in the process."

Alpha Predator One approached the first checkpoint, taking sporadic fire from the general direction of the rigged building. Per Devo's orders, the Stormtroopers began to pull back from the structure. The shooting didn't stop though, it just wasn't as extensive. That was because the shots were coming from automated turbolasers installed on the buildings. Kamo imagined they were for whatever training exercise was supposed to be run here, now their mission was to lead the monster where they wanted him to go.

The turbolasers irritated the giant lizard, enough to make him stomp over to the building they were located in. He tore his massive hand into the side of the structure, ripping out one of the turret and crushing it. Devo turned to Kamo and gave a nod. Without hesitation, the old clone pressed the detonation trigger on his wrist.

A fireball erupted from the bottom of the building and began to creep up the structure. Blasts exploded out the top floors, striking the monster in the face. The lizard stumbled backwards from the force of the shock and flames, piercing at his eyes. Before he could turn back, the building began to tumble on top of the beast. It wasn't going to hurt him much, it being just a mockup of a real building, but there was still a lot of smoke and debris from the collapse. When it was over, the monstrous reptile was still standing, covered in dust and not looking at all pleased. Roaring in anger, the lizard titan began crashing through the fake city in the direction the building had toppled onto him from.

"All Stormtroopers, converge on second building," Devo ordered. "Open fire on Alpha Predator One when you're in position and be ready to move on my go."

Kamo could only watch as the monster pulverized his way through the fake city, crashing through the hastily put together towers with surprising speed. Only the missile strikes of the Stormtroopers' launchers managed to bring his attention on to the next rigged building. That was the good news, the bad news was that Alpha Predator One was in more of a hurry this. The monster quickly moved to engage, charging head long at the structure much faster than Devo would've liked.

"Everyone out of there! Move!" He ordered over the comm. "Get away from the target building!"

The Stormtroopers fled the structure as fast as they could, running into transports parked nearby. The drivers floored the vehicles' accelerators, tearing away from the blast zone as fast as they could. However, not all the Troopers were fast enough. The monster was soon upon them and in a rage crashed his foot through the wall of the building. The stomp crashed down on the explosives, detonating them and killing any Stormtroopers still inside. The resulting fireball shot out of the structure and up the beast's leg, flames licking at his grey scales.

The shockwave did more damage though, as the force of it knocked the giant lizard right into an adjacent building. He crashed down onto his knee among the broken bits of metal and stone that made up the mock tower. The massive reptile stood up soon after though, bellowing at the sky. He turned back towards the shattered remains of the exploded building and used his tail to crush the south wall. He then began clawing at the remains, roaring as he did.

"I know this is stating the obvious at this point," Arch spoke up. "But that thing has a major anger management problem."

"At least we're putting it to use for us for a change," Kamo reminded him. "One more building to go and he'll be in range for the final phase."

Kamo fired his launcher at the beast, aiming for the eye. They needed him to get back on course, not taking out his aggression on a devastated building. The Kamo's missile was followed by several others from the surrounding structures in the mock city, other Stormtroopers who like the Clone Sergeant could see the end of the plan in sight. The grey lizard was soon roused back onto the warpath and he began making head way towards the final rigged building. At this point, he began firing off his energy breath at the buildings beneath him, setting them ablaze. Kamo imagined a few Troopers were caught in the blue beam of death, but there was nothing him or anyone else could do for them now. At least he hadn't fired at the target building, not yet anyway.

Then, almost as suddenly as he started attacking, Alpha Predator One stopped. The missiles and lasers kept hitting him, more exclusively from the final rigged structure. This time though, he paused, glaring at the building.

"What's going on?" Devo asked. "Why isn't he attacking?"

Kamo saw the beast's hesitation and came to a realization on his own. The lizard had discerned a pattern somehow, their pattern, and it was giving him reason to doubt his course of action. Something they could not afford.

"Crap, he knows what we're up to," the clone reasoned.

"Impossible," Devo retorted. "There's no way he's figured it out this quick. He can't be that smart, he just can't."

"All I know is we need to force him to keep moving," Kamo stated. "It's the only way he's going to get in range."

Devo nodded in agreement and quickly came up with a plan.

"Lieutenant Devo to ground units," he began to talk into his comm. "Concentrate your fire. Jumptrooper squads one and two, prepare to engage on-"

There was a sudden screech that sounded through the air, cutting off Devo's orders. It started out low but grew louder with every second. Then, without warning, several green laser blasts struck Alpha Predator One in the side of his face. He turned west, towards the direction of the attack, as did Kamo. Screaming through the skies came several flights of TIE fighters, racing to dive bomb and strafe the monster below before flying over him. Kamo, Arch and Devo just stared on in disbelief.

"They're not part of the plan," Arch noted aloud. "Where did they come from?"

"Must be from one of the Star Destroyers in orbit," Kamo reasoned. "No way they're planetside. We don't have nearly that many left. What are they doing here?"

The TIEs screamed through the sky, buzzing about Alpha Predator One's head. He began stomping after the fighters, heading East, away from the target building. Devo balled his fists in anger and shouted at the skies.

"Those idiot fly boys are screwing up the whole plan!" He screamed. "They're leading him away!"

"Worse," Arch told him, watching as the creature's total size began to fill his field of vision. "They're leading him our way!"

The giant reptile roared as it chased after the fighters, firing its deadly energy breath after them. The monster's massive girth scraped against the side of their building, forcing them to pull back. Bits of the floor gave way beneath them as the monster's elbow carved out a small section of the tower. The creature continued to chase after the TIEs, seemingly forgetting about the building that had been shooting at him before. Everything was going wrong again, but Kamo wasn't about to let it all crash and burn just yet.

"We need to get him back on track," Kamo informed Devo. "Do we have any Jumptroopers nearby?"

"Right, they can circle him back around the building," Devo answered, seemingly reading the clone's mind. "Let me get them on the comm. You and Arch get higher up, I'll meet you there."

Kamo and Arch started making their way up the stairs to the higher floors above, listening to the chaos happening just outside all the while. The monster was still firing his energy breath into the clouds. Kamo just hoped he wouldn't start using his tail as a bug swatter and accidentally hit their building in the process. Stupid TIEs, where had they come from? Slaan didn't mention anything about them and they weren't the briefing datapad. Someone must've sent them here, probably someone who didn't really know the plan.

If they reacted fast enough, maybe they could mitigate the damage. However, when they got to the upper floors, Kamo wondered if they still had a chance. The giant lizard was already moving away from their building. The TIEs had settled into a pattern of circling the monster now in wide berths, so he wasn't getting any further away. They still weren't helping to get back on track though.

Finally, Kamo saw Devo's Jumptroopers rocketing from below towards the grey beast. They were armed with Arc Casters, the only weapon that bothered the monster more than the missiles. They closed to within range, firing beams of electricity at the lizard's throat. The creature pulled away from the assaulting TIEs and turned to the Jumptroopers, moving back towards their tower.

"Should I be happy about the fact he's coming back, or..." Arch wondered.

"Just hope he doesn't swish that tail our way," Kamo told him.

As the Jumptroopers led the giant reptile back around, Devo joined them up on the top floor. He hadn't gone with the squads, still recovering from his last encounter with the creature. He had learned from it though and told his men not to stick around too long. They were already headed around the tower towards the back of the structure. He bit, chomped and slashed at the retreating jumptroopers, but they were far smaller targets. Their attacks continued to annoy him however, to the point he charged up his breath attack. He was only a few feet away from the building. A blinding blue light filled their visors as the beam burst forth from the beast's mouth. When it subsided, Devo got on his comm.

"Team, report," he demanded. "What's your status?"

"_We're okay, most of us anyway,"_ a voice explained. _"We dispersed when we saw him charging up. Barely got away."_

"Get to the target building, we need to lure the lizard back there," Devo ordered.

By now the monster had gotten between their building and the target one. Jumptroopers from the target building were already in position, firing on the beast with their own Arc Casters. The streams of electrical current shot into the reptilian titan, causing it to twitch wildly. It's tail lashed out violently as it turned, striking the lower portion of the building they were still in. The floor beneath them violently shook.

"I think you just jinxed us, sir," Arch told Kamo nervously.

"Sorry about that, Arch," Kamo replied, trying to keep his balance.

The entire mockup tower began to tip diagonally towards the ground, away from Alpha Predator One. There was little time to act. The three of them ran up the slowly tipping building, trying to discern their best course of action.

"I don't think my pack can carry us all," Devo told them over the crumbling building.

"Take Arch!" Kamo told him, taking his rifle off his back. "I got my own way off."

He didn't tell them it was probably a really stupid exit strategy. Devo grabbed Arch and activated his pack, rocketing clean out of the tumbling tower. Kamo in the meantime made a running jump out the window, suicide in most cases, but in this case he had a very large, grey lizard to help him. Not willingly of course. His rifle had a grapple line loaded into the launch tube beneath it, like they had used back in the Clone Wars. With careful aim, Kamo fired the line at Alpha Predator One.

The line stuck into the monster's arm, digging deep beneath a scale. Holding on for dear life, Kamo tightened his grip on his rifle more than ever before. The monster swung his arm forward as he walked, dragging Kamo along for the ride.

"I really didn't think this through," Kamo shouted aloud as he was pulled along.

The cable held, but Kamo was swung higher than he anticipated. He got a real good look at the underside of the monster's jaw. Thankfully, he didn't have to worry about getting shot in the process, as Devo's orders kept shouting through the comm-link in his helmet.

"_Don't fire! Sergeant Kamo is swinging on that thing! Do not fire!"_

As Kamo swung back down he started heading towards the roof of another building. He waited until he was over it and let go of his rifle, letting the momentum of his swing carry him the rest of the way. He hit the roof hard, rolling several feet before finally coming to a stop just a few inches from the edge. He pulled himself up, panting as he did. Of all the crazy things he had done, that was in the top five somewhere.

"Never doing that again," he stated flatly to himself.

He lay there as the creature walked by the building, still on course for the target building. Kamo just used the moment, considering the enormity of the beast for once, not just its power. He wondered, how old was it exactly? How long had it been around? Probably longer than anyone alive today, that was for sure. It had been around that long and nothing had managed to kill it yet, despite all logic. Maybe that was one thing he had in common with this thing. They were both surviving somehow. At least, for the moment anyway. Although he doubted this lizard would ever have to worried about being forgotten. Kamo knew he never would.

Devo eventually found him, carrying Arch with him down to the roof. He waved them over, inviting them to take in the view a bit. Arch rushed over and helped the old clone to his feet.

"That was insane, sir," he said astonished. "I guess those old bounty hunter genes really are nothing to balk at."

"Kept me alive this long," Kamo joked. "Despite my best efforts."

The monster's roar halted the conversation as it lurched towards the final target building. Jumptroopers were already leaving the structure, rocketing away from the doomed mockup. As the monster reached the tower, but refrained from attacking it. Devo held up the detonator.

"One more firework to set off people," he said plainly. "No sense in wasting more time."

Pressing the button, the structure began to explode. Debris and fire jutted out, hitting the monster, but not nearly as badly as the other two times. If it had any suspicions, they had been proven correct. Not that it mattered though, for as the lizard began to move around the crumbling inferno, a different kind of fire started hitting him hard. Outside the fake city, on small strip of beach to the Northwest, several Self-Propelled Medium Artillery batteries opened fire. They hit the giant reptile with a massive amount of force, forcing his attention towards the Northwest. As he stomped towards his next target, Kamo turned to Devo.

"Final phase, sir," he said. "We almost have him."

"Now let's hope the real air support we actually obtained for this operation will do its job and not mess things up," Devo heatedly replied. "Which reminds me, as soon as this is done I'm contacting headquarters. Someone almost seriously screwed us here with those TIEs. I wanna know who."

Kamo agreed and he hoped the jerk got what was coming to him for it. Right now though, he just wanted just wanted to rest. Swinging from a giant lizard, old bounty hunter genes or not, tended to do that to ya. For the moment, he'd just sit back and watch the big grey reptile start walking towards their trap.

* * *

Moira found it odd that the TIE reinforcements were taking so damn long. The Imps should've had fresh pilots on top of them. Instead, they seemed to be steadily gaining the advantage, eating up the TIEs slowly but surely. She didn't know why they weren't getting more TIEs, but Moira wasn't complaining. She was Corellian after all, grabbing at unexpected opportunity no matter the risk was just in her blood. A slight sense of caution wouldn't change that.

"All wings, press the attack," she ordered. "Swarm the Conning Tower and take out those shield generators!"

The Raider ARC-170s began to buzz about the Star Destroyer's Conning Tower, firing on it and the shield generators. The remaining TIE escorts tried to counter, but their rapidly decreasing numbers wasn't doing them any favors. Moira could spot Gorossk chasing after three of the Imps herself, his lasers slicing through the void and then through the TIEs one after the other. The Empire's pilots were still putting up a fight though, keeping what little screen they could muster around the Shield Generators.

Moira screeched into attack position, placing her crosshairs over the wing of fighters in her path. They opened fire immediately, forcing her to pivot and roll as she flew. They weren't going to let her get past them to take a shot on the generator. Moira had another trick up her sleeve though.

"I don't need to aim that much to take you Imps out," she sneered as she armed a new set of missiles.

Taking aim in the general direction of the TIEs and the generator behind them, Moira fired something she had been keeping in reserve. The swarm missiles shot out of its hardpoint. Shortly after, its warhead opened up and shot several dozen smaller missiles that started zigging and zagging through the air. The TIEs tried to break up their formation at the last second, two of their number being blown apart by the swarming miniature missiles. The rest of the projectiles screamed towards the generator. The majority of the swarmers smashed into it, causing the white orb to explode.

"One down," Moira snickered. "Baraz's swarmer worked like a charm. I bet Captain Malness is feeling the heat now."

"_He'll be feeling a lot of it when the gun cuts through his precious ship,"_ Gorossk added with a laughing hiss.

Suddenly the comm-line was interrupted with a terrible blast of static. When it cleared, the voice of Captain Malness filled every channel. He did not sound as afraid as Moira hoped he was though.

"_The Otachi will not be another casualty of the gun you turned, Terrorists."_ he declared. _"More importantly, your fleet will not reach the surface, I will make sure of that. No matter the cost."_

At that moment, the _Otachi's_ engines switched to full burn. The Star Destroyer rocketed out of position around Tsuburonda and towards the Rebel Fleet. Moira understood what he was doing. Since he was the only ship left, the only option he had left was to attack Ahsoka's ships directly. It was suicide, but he'd take a good chunk of the invasion fleet with him. On his present course, Malness was headed for an intercept course with the Rebel Command Ship. He was going to cut off the head of the attack force. More importantly to Moira, he was going to decapitate their paycheck.

"Fulcrum, you got a problem," she warned through the comm. "The _Otachi_ is headed straight for you!"

"_I see him," _Ahsoka assured her. _"His shields may be damaged, but he's got enough firepower to rip half our transports to bits. None of our ships have the punch we need to stop him. We either take him out now or this invasion is over before it even starts. Can you slow him down?"_

"We can hit the engines, sure," Moira admitted, steadying her nerves as she eyed the Star Destroyer. "But we need to take down the second generator to have a shot. Anglyph, have your bombers ready to hit the engine thrusters, I'm going after the generator. Everyone else, cover me."

Moira hit her afterburners and sped after the _Otachi_. TIE fighters were quick to rush into her path in an attempt to stop her. Turning into a hard roll, she pressed down hard on the trigger. Despite the g-forces pushing against her body, her ARC-170 was able to avoid the majority of the enemy fire and score a number of hits of its own. Lasers burned through TIEs as Moira rolled through the void and past the Imps. As she pulled out of the roll though, lasers lashed out from behind. She turned and saw another group of TIEs trailing after her.

"Ugh, sometimes I wish I had eyes in the back of my head," she grumbled as she turned her craft away from the incoming fire.

"_Don't worry boss, I got'em,"_ Gorossk's voiced chirped in her ear.

The Trandoshan pilot raced out of the black from above and fired on the flight of TIEs, ripping through four of them. The fifth however, managed to speed away from the attack and keep after Moira. He fired on her tail, hitting her a few times.

"Alright, Imp," Moira growled. "You want me so bad? Be careful what you wish for!"

When the TIE fired next, Moira dipped her ARC into a spinning dive. The TIE kept on flying, probably thinking he had just scored a kill. That was when Moira, fighting against the intense Gs of the dive, pulled herself out of the spin, turned the craft's nose back up and boosted high into the sky right for the TIE's underbelly. Lasers streaked through the black, ripping into the Imp's ship with ease. As he exploded, she rocketed through what was left of him and headed for the Star Destroyer. She came up on the _Otachi's _ remaining generator and locked onto it with a missile.

"Say goodbye to your shields, Malness," Moira declared as she pressed down on the button.

The missile launched out of the ARC-170 and flew directly into the generator, blowing it to bits. As soon as it was down, Anglyph's bombers rocketed towards the engine thrusters. The Y-Wings used up the last of their proton torpedoes, firing them into every thruster on the _Otachi's _backside. Explosions tore through the thrusters, decreasing the _Otachi's_ speed. Regardless of their success though, the Destroyer was already in range of the Rebel Fleet. It had begun firing on them, Ahsoka's command ship specifically. Heavy Cannon blasts ripped into the side of the Command Ship, devastating the shields.

"_We're taking heavy fire," _Ahsoka informed Moira. _"I'm taking evasive action, but we need to end this now!"_

"Anglyph, bombing run across the Destroyer's hull!" She ordered the Ithorian. "Take out the guns! I'm going for the bridge!"

The Y-Wings flew towards the starboard side of the _Otachi_ and across her deck. They dropped their proton bombs as they did, destroying many of the deck guns and taking the pressure off of Ahsoka's ship. Fire started springing up across the deck, guns exploded and holes were torn into the hull. For all the devastation though, it was not fatal and the _Otachi _kept firing with what little it had left.

While the bombers burned the top of the Destroyer, Moira flew towards the bridge on an attack vector. As she targeted the bridge, she could see Captain Malness staring out of the window at the carnage through the magnified scope. She smiled slightly and readied a tracker for firing.

"I hope your people are ready to fire, Fulcrum," she said through the comm. "Because I'm about to give them a target vector for Malness himself."

She fired the tracker at the bridge, sticking it onto the window. Instantly she pulled away, along with most of the Rebel Fleet. They weren't about to stick around for the Orbital Gun's final shot. Just seconds after they were clear, the large red beam of the gun shot up from planetside. It sliced through the Engineering Deck and collided with Conning Tower. The bridge exploded in a fireball, taking Malness with it. The _Otachi_ itself broke apart as its engines exploded next. When the destruction finally settled, Moira flew through the debris, waving her wings as she did.

"And that makes three!" She cheered. "Fulcrum, your people are free and clear for landing!"

"_I read you,"_ Ahsoka responded. _"All transports, full speed ahead for Tsuburonda. We don't have much time before the Imperials close the hole we just made."_

Every ship in the fleet made a beeline for the planet's surface, with every remaining fighter following after them. Moira's Raiders returned to their standard formation with each other. Gorossk and Ro took up positions on either side of Moira, with Anglyph's bombers flying below them.

"_We really stuck it to the Empire today, huh Boss?"_ Gorossk asked.

"Job ain't over yet, Gorossk," she reminded him. "We still got a science facility to take out. And we won't have a big planetary gun on our side in that fight."

"_Chances are once the Imps figure out what happened they'll set up a pretty big defense force at that facility," _Ro warned. _"I got a feeling this half of the mission was just the easy part."_

Moira couldn't help but agree. They were only half done, no sense in celebrating yet. But they had just helped kill three Star Destroyers. For her, that was a victory in and of itself. So for the moment, she held a silent celebration for herself, waggling her wings just a bit more.

"Let's get groundside team," she stated. "I wanna meet this Hera person and her friends. We do owe them a lot for today."

"_Yeah, they did get me quite a few assist kills, didn't they?"_ Gorossk agreed. _"Might as well tally up the numbers with them. Only fair."_

Moira sighed wistfully at the comment.

"Can put the Trandoshan into the pilot's seat, but can't take the Trandoshan out of the pilot" she laughed. "You never change, Gorossk."

"_Never will, Boss,"_ Gorossk added. _"Never will."_

* * *

Godzilla approached the beach as the artillery kept pounding him with fire. Their blasts struck all across his body, never letting up. He wondered what they hoped to accomplish for a brief moment. Then he just incinerated them. With one blast from his radioactive breath, the king of monsters set the artillery position ablaze with atomic fire. The guns melted under the heat, exploding one after the other as their power cores for their lasers ignited.

Godzilla roared aloud at the prospect of another victory. His cry was cut short when something from the sky hit him in the head. Laser blasts and bombers collided into the side of face. Growling in anger, he turned to the source of the attack. Several TIE Bombers and one ship that looked like a modified Imperial Attack shuttle. They kept firing at his head, one bomb striking him hard in the eye. In a rage, Godzilla fired off his breath again. This time though, it didn't connect. The flying machines broke away, heading Northwest, seemingly fleeing before his might.

As Godzilla watched them flee, however, he sensed something from the larger ship. Energy, power, strength, it resided within the craft. He didn't know exactly what was inside, but Godzilla knew he wanted it. After the reactor on this planet had reinvigorated him, it was clear this planet's energy was far greater than any source he had come across before. Even the smallest amount could give him the edge he needed in the coming battles. He knew there would be more now. These humans were remarkably tenacious and arrogant. They would not be defeated quickly, something he had come to expect at this point with all of their kind.

So he would follow this new craft, liberate the power it held within for himself and use it against the white-clad soldiers. They had insulted him by not offering a proper fight, fleeing like the cowards they were. That and they were already moving in the direction he was headed. Soon they would learn the folly of their abuse of the power they had achieved. As well as the consequences of insulting him with such a brazenly cowardly attack.

* * *

Alpha Predator One was now on the path for the Northwestern trap, stomping through the surf after the shuttle that had attacked him. The plan had worked. Kamo wanted to say he knew it would, but to be honest he was surprised that they had pulled it off. For once, something Command had thought up had worked in their favor.

"Guess he couldn't resist the radioactive waste the shuttle was loaded up with after all," Devo noted aloud. "The datapads said he had a taste for radiation. Guess it makes sense given what happened at the power station."

"Yeah, but now comes the hard part," Kamo reminded him. "He may be headed right for their trap, question is though if its enough to stop him for good."

"We're just going to have to catch a ride and find out for ourselves," Devo informed him. "I'll gather up my men and whatever survivors are left. See if you can wave down a transport for us that can get us to wherever we're leading the lizard to first."

Kamo nodded his head and set to work. The end felt like it was in sight for once. That this little war of theirs was almost over. With any luck, what happened next would be the final play.

* * *

Ahsoka's Command Ship now hovered above the orbital gun site. A shuttle took her down the rest of the way. Already, transports were landing in the fields beyond, unloading troops, vehicles, equipment and supplies for the coming raid. There was an impressive array of manpower and material pouring out onto the open terrain. The question now was if it would be enough.

When Ahsoka's shuttle landed, she was greeted by Hera and Kanan. She smiled as she approached them and for a moment thought she saw Kanan do the same. Maybe this victory had got his confidence in the plan back up again.

"Well, it was touch and go, but we've done it," Ahsoka told them. "We broke the blockade and landed on the planet with only minor casualties."

"Still a long way to go," Kanan reminded her. "Not to mention the Empire is going to know we're here sooner or later. That science facility is going to be locked down tight, especially with our big grey complication still running around."

"I'm sending a few of our fighter wings to recon the area," Ahsoka informed him. "We'll at least know what we're facing. Then we can adjust our plan accordingly."

As she spoke, a few of those very fighters flew over their heads. They rocketed through the air, heading straight for their intended target. They'd know pretty soon what the Empire had in store for them. Ahsoka knew Kanan still had a point though. The facility would be well guarded, especially with that monster on the loose.

However, said monster, gave her an idea of sorts.

"I need a place to meditate for a bit," Ahsoka said stoically. "There is much to think about before our raid can truly begin. Especially with all that's happened."

"You can use the _Ghost_," Hera offered. "Zeb, Chopper and Ezra are busy inside the complex gathering up extra weapons or watching over the Imperials we captured when we took the gun. It's relatively quiet now."

"Sounds good to me," Ahsoka agreed. "Lead the way."

She followed Hera, a plan forming in her head as she did. It was probably a crazy one and it relied on gathering more information first. But considering everything they had already done at this point, it probably wasn't that crazy by comparison. At least she hoped it wasn't. In the back of her mind, she thought of Master Obi-Wan lecturing her about how she was taking too many cues from Anakin. Even further in the back of her mind, she hoped she wasn't taking too many herself. Not if they had anything to do with what she suspected about her former master.

* * *

AN: This should've been up way sooner, but apparently laptops just don't want to work for me like they should. At this rate I may just give up and get a new one. Whatever, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Things are coming to a head now, as we'll see next time. For now, check out the profile for links for the behind the scenes stuff and do leave your feedback. It is most appreciated. So long for now.


	7. Web for the Unwary Fly

Chapter 6: Web for the Unwary Fly

In the personal quarters he had arranged for himself prior to his arrival, Darth Vader sat meditating. While the facility's head staff ran around repeatedly failing to achieve anything, he was busy reaching out to their new foe. The monster was still on the rampage, although this time headed in a direction of their choosing. This small victory did little to ease his mind on the subject, as it was only a plan half completed. The ultimate test lay in the final phase Sakal had planned. He had little faith it would succeed, if only because Sakal, like everyone else on this planet, was proving himself to be extremely lacking in ability.

However, he had to admit to one thing and that was how one of them had managed to make something stick. Doctor Boll's concerns about this reptilian titan being more than it seemed stayed in the back of his mind for a good while until he could no longer ignore them. He could not deny that the monster seemed to have a thinking brain behind it's brute muscle. As the Bivall had suggested before, it was a disturbing thought. Vader decided to meditate on the matter, reach out through the Force and try to use it to determine what they were truly facing.

What he felt was both greater than him and yet shockingly familiar. He could feel pain, great unimaginable pain. A pain that boiled over into wrath, into a blinding wave of rage that was all encompassing, all consuming. It permeated everything, all thoughts and feelings. For a moment, Vader feared he would be lost in it as it reminded him greatly of his past. He too had felt pain, terrible unimaginable pain. And that pain fed his anger, his rage and his hate. It had made him stronger than any Jedi before him.

However, through the Force he could also sense something else. A concept he had abandoned, pity, a tinge of mercy, some sense of compassion driving the rage. It was a contradiction in so many ways, one that flew in the face of his master's teachings. This monster was indeed powerful and anger did play a part in that power. Destruction was in its blood it seemed. But it was not the sole source of his power, there was something else, a sense of justice or perhaps a differing concept of morality. This creature was more than just the surface layer of rage, it was more complicated than that.

Ultimately he could not place it. The Force could reach out and sense the creature's emotions and thoughts, but the connection was too muddled. The beast's mind was not the same as his, it was far more complex. He could not attune to it. He doubted any Force User could, not alone anyway. The ability to speak through the Force to other species was a difficult enough skill to master on one's own. There were probably none who could do it now.

The meditation had revealed that this monster was at least sentient to a degree, as Boll suggested. That it remembered some kind of wrong done to it, some pain inflicted on it, was proof of that. He wondered if it was in anyway similar to his pain. Did a brother try to destroy him? Did a mate turn on him? Did a family lie and mistreat him? Did a parent die in front of him? He doubted it. The similarities were cosmetic more than anything. The creature didn't hate, unlike Vader. What made the reptile strong was something else. His rage came from somewhere else. Vader's came from hate, that was all he knew now.

If nothing else, that proved one thing to him. However powerful Alpha Predator One was, it paled in comparison to his own power. Hatred combined with the Force knew no limits. It was greater than any form of energy that the monster could siphon from their reactors. And before this war with the giant lizard was over, he would prove it.

Just then, Vader's thoughts were broken by a disturbance. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw an Imperial Officer, a Lieutenant Commander from his own forces, rush into his room. The Sith Lord could already sense he had urgent news. He did not bother to turn or stand to face the Officer as he addressed him.

"What is it, Lieutenant Commander?" He asked, his voice booming.

"We have completed our analysis as you ordered, Lord Vader," he stated. "We believe the orders for the unauthorized flight of TIE Fighters that attacked Alpha Predator One originated from this facility. We suspect it was transmitted through one of the communication terminals an hour before the attack began."

Yes, he remembered. When word came to him that TIEs from orbit had been diverted from their stations to attack the monster he had ordered a full investigation. Sakal's plan was shaky enough without someone sabotaging it with their foolishness. However, they still needed to find the culprit.

"Search the facility's computers until you discover the exact origin point," Vader demanded. "Then determine who precisely gave the order."

"We're doing that now, Lord Vader," The Lieutenant Commander stated, slightly unnerved as he did. "But, uh, there is more. We recently received word from our blockade in orbit. There has been... an incident."

That was enough to force Vader to rise and turn, his hands clutched into fists as he looked at the nervous officer.

"What kind of incident?"

* * *

Ahsoka returned from her meditation after a little more than an hour. By now, everything was unloaded from the transports. To all outward appearances they were ready for their assault, even if it was a few miles away still. However, they wouldn't be going anywhere until they knew what they were facing at the facility. That meant waiting for Moira's Raiders to come back with a recon report. No one expected it to be very encouraging when it arrived, but they were all trying to be hopeful.

"So what were you meditating on exactly?" Kanan asked rather bluntly as Ahsoka approached.

"A number of things," she replied simply, before quickly shifting the conversation back on to him. "Kanan, have you felt anything specific about this creature that is attacking the Imperials?"

Kanan looked a bit bewildered by the question, but despite his suspicious glare he did answer.

"Only that I'm not so sure it's just another one of this planet's mutations," he admitted. "There's purpose behind the rage. It's not just pure instinct. I didn't even have to focus that hard to sense it when we were near the thing. It's intelligent to a degree."

"I felt the same," Ezra added. "Like he was angry at something, but it felt more personal and directed. A memory of pain, but it was vague. I couldn't really figure it out."

Ahsoka just nodded. She suspected Kanan was about to ask what the questioning was about, but they were interrupted by the sound of starfighter engines overhead. They looked to see a small flight of ARC-170s flying above them and moving into position for landing. Moira was back with her recon team at last. Now they'd get some answers as to what they were about to face.

The Corellian pilot landed a few feet away from them and quickly rushed over to deliver her intel. For once, she didn't look all that happy. The usual swagger her planet's people were so well known for slightly more subdued. She perked up a bit, however, when she saw Hera among the group.

"Hey, you're the twi'lek who manned the gun right?" She asked, stretching out her arm. "Moira Thal, leader of Moira's Raiders. That was some fine shooting, especially since you were using a blind gun."

"Well you did help," Hera replied, taking Moira's hand in her own and shaking it. "Hera Syndulla, pleasure to meet you. I've heard a bit about your exploits in the Outer Rim. You've been hitting the Empire's supply routes pretty hard for awhile now."

"Eh, it pays the bills," Moira shrugged slightly. "Ticking off the Imps is it's own reward some days."

Hera looked over Moira's shoulder to her fighter, giving it a good once over with her eyes.

"You've really decked out that old 170," she noted. "Didn't think you could get that many guns on one. How does it handle?"

"Well enough," Moira insisted. "Added armor and weapons slows us down a bit, but we make up for it with maneuverability and some juiced up boosters when we're in a pinch. Added firepower also helps us rip through the shields faster. When you're trying to take out a ship's engines, that's what really counts."

Ahsoka interrupted the pilot meet and greet with a cough, catching both Moira and Hera's attention. They did, after all, have more pressing issues. Moira instantly got back on track and relied her findings. They weren't promising.

"Sorry to say, but the Science Facility is under heavy lock down," she warned. "Place is crawling with Stormtroopers. They got our approach vector covered and I saw quite a few anti-air turrets installed throughout the complex. The real issue though is their Walkers, specifically AT-ATs, lot's of them. With even more coming in from the looks of it."

"Sounds like they've been building up their defenses for awhile then," Kanan observed.

"One guess why," Zeb added. "Big grey and angry is making them nervous."

Given what they were protecting, it wasn't a surprise they were taking precautions. What was a surprise was how many they had gotten. Moira showed them a holodisk that contained images of the giant walkers. AT-ATs were stationed around the perimeter, at least two full companies' worth. If more were on the way, that didn't bode well for them.

"There's no way we have enough people to punch through all of that," Hera observed.

"Could we bomb them with our air support?" Sabine asked. "It would be risky, but not as much as taking them all head on with ground units."

"I don't have nearly enough bombs or Y-Wings to take them all out," Moira told her. "Combined with the other squadrons outside of my Raiders, maybe we can kill a few. But there will be a lot more showing up soon, long before we can get there."

It sounded then that were in for a very hard fight. They had weapons capable of standing up to an AT-AT in their arsenal. The problem was, none of them were in great supply. Cutting through the defenses wasn't impossible, but getting enough through to successfully carry out the raid was highly unlikely. And eventually the Star Destroyers and their TIE fighters would respond to their attack. They wouldn't have air superiority for long when that happened.

"So what's our move then?" Hera asked. "They probably already know we've landed by now. It won't take them long to reconfigure their plans to repel us instead of the monster."

"More than likely," Ahsoka concurred. "I'm afraid our original lighting assault is out of the question now. For this raid to succeed we need reconsider our options."

"We have options?" Zeb asked, not sounding like he believed they did. "We're not going to last long against these kind of odds. We can't just barge in now. That giant lizard already rang the alarm bell before we even arrived."

"Indeed, he got us into this predicament," Ahsoka agreed. "So perhaps, he can get us out."

Everyone stared at Ahsoka like she was insane. eyes widened, brows turned up and more than a few of them doing a double take. Kanan seemed the most perturbed out of anyone. To be fair, Ahsoka admitted that she probably was crazy. The thing was though that Zeb was right, they didn't really have many options.

"Whatever happened to not letting the rogue element dictate our mission?" Kanan asked her.

"That was before we suspected it was sentient," Ahsoka informed him. "Before we knew it was intelligent and not just an animal fighting to reclaim territory from intruders. You said it yourself, Kanan. There is a mind behind the rampage. Ezra senses it too. As do I. This creature, whatever it is, might in fact be sentient."

"That doesn't guarantee anything," Kanan argued. "We don't even know why it seems to hate the Empire so much. Just because it's not their friend, doesn't mean it's ours."

"Besides, sentient or not, it's still an animal," Moira interjected. "You can't just ask it for help."

There was a brief silence at Moira's words, a silence that made the red-headed pilot think twice about her words. She looked to everyone around her, confused by their disposition.

"You... can't just talk to it," she reiterated. "That's crazy. Right?"

"Actually..." Ahsoka tried to begin.

"You cannot seriously be suggesting what I think you are," Kanan interrupted with a growl. "Have you ever tried to connect to something like that? Ever at all? Because I don't think any Jedi ever has."

Moira still looked really confused, turning to Sabine and Hera for an answer.

"Mind getting me in the loop here?" She asked.

"Jedi have an uncanny ability to speak to life through the Force," Hera explained. "They can tame wildlife, sometimes even control it. Like the fabled Jedi Mind Trick, but a little more invasive."

"Ezra's actually a bit of a pro at it," Sabine noted, pointing to the young padawan in training.

Moira turned to the ashen haired young boy who was sheepishly trying to hide whatever pride he felt behind a shy little smile. Moira just remained spell bound by the information.

"Whoa, I heard you Jedi could do some crazy stuff, but never this," she admitted. "So, what, you can actually control this giant lizard you keep mentioning?"

"In a way," Ahsoka admitted. "Although, it's a bit more complicated depending on the creature in question and the skill of the Force User."

"And no Jedi I have heard about has been able to convince a giant lizard that's as tall as a skyscraper on Coruscant to follow his or her commands," Kanan stated bluntly. "And if this thing is sentient, it probably wouldn't work. The more feral an animal, the harder it is to control. If it's intelligent, that just makes it even more difficult. It could just as easily decide not to listen to us like how stronger minds can resist mind tricks."

It wasn't a simple technique to be sure, Ahsoka knew that. Mastering the ability to speak and tame animals was no easy task. Even Ahsoka hadn't really covered it when she was still at the temple. She had only taught herself about it much later on. However, there were other ways to achieve the same result.

"We don't actually need to get him to obey us," Ahsoka explained. "If this monster is sentient, if it has a real thinking mind behind its rage, we can appeal to it. Through the Force, we could reach out and connect with the creature, truly understand what lies behind its aggression. At the very least, we could figure out what motivation it has. If it has one at all of course. All we'd need to do is combine our efforts and-"

"No," Kanan declared abruptly. "Absolutely not. I know what you're about to say and I'm not putting Ezra at risk like that. He's not ready for it."

"Not ready for what?" Ezra asked, sounding rather annoyed at Kanan's comments. "What does she want us to do?"

Kanan turned to his padawan, the look on his face growing ever more serious as he continued to speak.

"You know how Jedi can pool their abilities together, not just in combat but in other ways too," he explained. "Ahsoka wants us to merge our thoughts together as one and focus them on the monster's own mind. In theory we could break through to the inner workings of it's mind and speak to it in a sense. It's also very dangerous for any unexperienced Force User to try."

Kanan looked to Ahsoka grimly as he spoke, the Togruta didn't take the bait though. She remained perfectly stoic in the face of her fellow ex-Padawan's remarks. Her silence, however, let others answer for her, specifically Hera.

"To be fair, Kanan," She spoke up suddenly. "No Force User here has ever got above the level of Padawan. So Ezra isn't the only one at risk."

"All the more reason not potentially crack our minds open trying to get into that thing's head," Kanan argued, turning back towards Ahsoka as he did. "From what little we know about this creature, we know it is extremely angry. Filled with rage and a desire for destruction. Connecting with anything like that through the Force is extremely dangerous for the unprepared."

Ezra looked between his master and Ahsoka, not sure if he should but in or anything. They were talking about him more than anything, at least Kanan was. It wasn't without reason, he knew that. However, he still felt like he was being left out of the conversation a bit.

"We can be careful," Ahsoka tried to assure Kanan. "If we work together in tandem, keep constant contact through one another within the Force, we should be able to overcome any danger."

"I thought I was being careful too last time I tried something like this," Kanan informed the Togruta. "It almost backfired. Ezra opened up a part of himself, a dangerous part. One I hadn't prepared him for and he still isn't ready to be exposed to."

Ezra knew what he was speaking off, the Dark Side. It wasn't long ago when they had tried to use Frynocks to fight the Imperial Inquisitor they encountered. It had worked for a time, but during the battle Ezra left himself vulnerable to the Dark Side of the Force. Through it, he had saved their lives, but he had almost lost himself to it and he felt really wrong after it was over. As if something was out of place within himself, like someone else had been using his body. He didn't like it.

"But that couldn't happen again," Ezra tried to suggest. "There's no one like the Inquisitor to rile me up this time."

"What about the megaton lizard itself?" Kanan asked.

There was a brief silence, one that even shook Ahsoka from her stance a bit. It was an acknowledgment of Kanan's point. From what they knew of the monster, it was not all that attuned with the Light. That posed a risk, as Kanan pointed out.

"We start trying to connect with something potentially malevolent and we're risking way too much for something that might not even work," he stated. "When we were en route to this planet, me and Ezra got a glimpse of something. It was powerful, primal and angry. It had to have been that thing. We connected to it by accident. Trying to talk to it on purpose is a step I'm not sure we're ready to take."

"I am not saying there is no risk," Ahsoka admitted. "But there are ways to mitigate it. All we have to do is find a way to show the creature we mean no harm to it. Then it may open itself up to us willingly."

Kanan thought that over a moment and then turned to Ezra. Before his master even said a word, the young padawan spoke up on his own behalf. This was him they were talking about anyway, more so than the monster itself perhaps.

"Maybe it's worth a shot," he suggested. "Yeah, we saw that this thing was dangerous and it's probably not the most receptive animal out there. But if it's as smart as we suspect, maybe we can convince it to help us like Ahsoka says. And I'm not so sure it is malevolent. Maybe it's just angry. We all get angry, even you."

"Anger in and of itself doesn't lead to the Dark Side, true," Kanan admitted. "But it doesn't exactly help either. It clouds judgment almost as much as it fuels a fight. We'd be opening ourselves to something we don't fully understand, with a mind that's fixated on rage for the moment and seems to be just constantly seeking destruction. As Jedi, we shouldn't be doing that just on a whim because we're in a tight spot. That's how we got in this mess in the first place, because we let Palpatine use a monster for his war plans."

"Yes, that is true," Ahsoka consented, her voice low but still adamant and unwavering. "But that was us giving in to what he wanted, listening to him instead of what we knew was right. Jedi were meant to protect all life, to listen to it, to commune with it. This monster may not be like any life we've ever encountered, but it is still part of the Force in some way. We need to reach out to it, not push it away. Give it a chance, try to guide it and understand it. Whatever pain or anger this creature feels might indeed be dangerous, but that doesn't mean we should turn our backs on it either."

Kanan eyed Ahsoka strangely, as did Ezra. They didn't deny that she had a point, but Ezra wondered, as did Kanan, about her tone. They couldn't be sure, but it sounded like there was a bit more to that speech of hers than just talking about the monster itself. It was like she had some kind of personal experience with the subject firsthand. Before they could think more on it, Ahsoka offered an ultimatum.

"If you don't want to risk using the Force to speak to it, maybe we can do something else instead," she offered. "We could always lead the creature towards the Science Facility somehow through other means. We would just need to figure out what it wants."

Kanan just sighed.

"Look, I'll consider the first option, but only because we don't exactly have many and under the condition that I think it's relatively safe," he conceded. "But I think we should leave it as a last resort. Let's try and lure him towards the bad guys first, then we can discuss trying to talk to it."

Ahsoka nodded, agreeing to the compromise. However, Moira's holo communicator suddenly started chirping loudly. The red-headed pilot answered it and a hazy image of Jetty appeared on screen. Before any of the _Ghost_ crew could ask why a battledroid was on the line, the machine started to give a report.

"_Ma'am, the hack of the probe network was a success,"_ he declared happily in his nasally voice. _"We found what Fulcrum asked us to. The Empire is currently tracking the creature towards a large mining quarry several miles due Northwest of our current position. He'll be there by late mid-day. And from the sound of their transmissions, the Empire has a surprise in store for him."_

Moira looked to the others.

"You guys better decide what we're going to do about this big lizard you keep going on about," she told them. "Cause it sounds like the Imps are about to force a conclusion of a sorts."

Sakal and the rest of the chief staff were standing in the Command Hub when Lord Vader arrived. For once, the General wasn't concerned. In fact he was glad to see him as they could now finally share the full details of their plan. Already sitting on the table nearby was a large canister, a glowing greenish haze shining through its glass. This was Sakal's answer to their giant monster problem and he suspected Vader would approve of his choice of solution.

* * *

"Lord Vader, it is good to see you," Sakal greeted. "Everything is on schedule, the reptile is on his way as we speak to the quarry where we've laid the trap."

Vader said nothing, only looking towards the canister for a brief moment. Sakal didn't understand why he had said nothing, but the General just continued on with what he had planned.

"Yes, the canister we'll get to that," Sakal insisted. "But there are other elements to the plan. Klusto already has the hologram prepared."

The Commander activated the holographic table nearby, presenting a digital representation of the quarry. It was rather deep circular entrenchment into the earth, a cone burrowed out of the rock. They harvested metals and other materials the stone was rich with there. They used trains on repulsorlift tracks to transport the daily haul back up to the top of the quarry. Now it would serve a different purpose, the open grave for the monstrosity plaguing them.

"The quarry has been turned into a miniature prison of sorts," he began pointing out several pieces of machinery installed along the edge of the pit and inside it. "These are ray shield generators, aligned both within and outside the quarry. The shield can be opened from the top slightly upon remote. This will allow us to cut the creature off from residual radiation but give us a way to attack him from above."

At this time, a digital representation of the monster began to walk into center of the quarry. Once it reached it, several large objects appeared around the creature on the display. They surrounded the monster in an energy fence, keeping him trapped behind beams of man-made lighting shooting between the poles.

"We've hidden these electrical field towers inside collapsible steel containers," Sakal explained. "When the monster is lured between them with the radioactive waste we've set up as bait, we will drop the containers and activate the towers. They will create an electrical fence and keep him trapped long enough for the first stage of our attack. That's where the canister comes into play."

Boll brought the canister over and set it down along the side of the holographic table carefully.

"When we were ordered to create the Zillo-Beast clone," Boll began, sounding slightly despondent as she explained. "We needed a contingency if anything went wrong. So we manufactured as much of the only thing we knew was capable of destroying it, the poison gas I developed to kill the original creature."

"Doctor Boll assures me the gas is just as deadly to other organisms as it is the Zillo-Beast," Sakal continued proudly. "Once the monster is trapped, our forces will saturate it from every angle with missiles and chemical throwers loaded with the stuff. Then comes the final blow. We'll open the top of the ray shield, which will be activated at the same time as the towers. Since it won't be able to flee from the gas, trapped behind the electrical fence, it be weakened and unable to fight back. With the top of the ray shield opened, we'll have TIE Bombers we've requisitioned from the blockade fleet to fly over and drop their payloads down into the quarry. Payloads laden with more gas of course, as well as high yield explosives."

"Our own forces will be protected from the gas within their vacuum-sealed armor," Klusto plainly added. "The electrical towers may not hold him for long, but they'll keep him in place long enough. At least until we have him appropriately saturated. He'll be unable to fight back against us. He'll either choke to death or be killed from the sustained fire of our heavy weapons. This is one fight Alpha Predator One is not going to win."

Sakal waited for Vader to give his blessing or more of criticism. It did not come though, he just stared, looking between the canister and the hologram. It was unnerving to say the least, trying to figure out what he was thinking behind that menacing black mask. Finally, he broke the silence.

"An interesting plan, General," he declared. "It may in fact work. You may yet redeem yourselves. As soon as we remove one final obstacle to it's success."

"Obstacle?" Sakal asked, confused at Lord Vader's words.

"Yes," he slowly replied. "A traitor to be specific."

Traitor? What was he talking about? Before Sakal could even ask, Vader supplied the answer.

"My technicians have uncovered why those TIE fighters nearly ruined your scheme to lure to the creature in," he informed the General. "They were given a direct order to set course for the test area island and engage the monster at will. The order came from this facility."

"That sounds more like negligence than-" Sakal began, before Vader interrupted him again.

"The order was also issued suspiciously around the same time as another attack," the tall dark-clad man continued. "Rebels who have assaulted and destroyed three Star Destroyers with our own Orbital Gun, breaking through the blockade to the planet's surface. They are amassing for an attack, more than likely on this very facility."

Sakal was shocked by the news. Rebels had found them and actually landed on Tsuburonda and they were coming here. How did they find out about this project? How the hell did they get a hold of their own Orbital Gun? Vader didn't seem interested in answering those questions, in fact he didn't seem to have any questions at all concerning the matter.

"My technicians located the terminal the unauthorized flight order was issued from," Vader explained, slowly turning his head about the room. "It came from the office of one of the senior staff in this room."

Vader's gaze finally landed on Nulon and was soon joined by others. Sakal stared at the Overseer, astonished by the revelation Vader had shared. Nulon, a traitor? It didn't really make much sense to Sakal. He was incompetent to be sure, but a rebel? The Overseer himself didn't really look good. The man frantically looked about the room, his mouth agape at the accusation. He quickly put up his hands defensively.

"Wait, wait, it's not what you think," he tried to assured them. "I'm not a traitor! I didn't mean to-"

"Your actions diverted critical resources away from the defense of the Star Destroyers," Vader stated, approaching slowly and viciously towards the Overseer. "TIE fighter reinforcements that could've turned the tide against the Rebel forces and prevented them from breaking the blockade. The monster's presence simply gave you the opportunity needed to do so."

"No, Lord Vader, please," Nulon nervously denied. "I merely wanted to ensure that the monster was defeated. I felt added air support would help."

Sakal now approached slightly, as Vader began to back Nulon towards the window.

"You went behind my back?" He asked angrily. "You jeopardized the entire operation and issued orders without my knowledge!"

"I didn't want to chance matters," Nulon frantically declared. "Every other plan you made failed spectacularly. I didn't want to bank on you failing to lure it in, I wanted it dead. So I asked for a large squadron of TIE fighters to start hitting while it was in the middle of the fight with the Stormtroopers on the island!"

"You almost ruined everything, you idiot!" Sakal shouted at him. "All because you were afraid of looking stupid again!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't know about the details of the plan, I couldn't relay them," Nulon informed him, nearly tripping over himself as he walked backwards towards the window, Vader encroaching on him further. "I'm only guilty of trying to take matters into my own hands. I'm no traitor! I had no knowledge of the Rebel attack!"

"So I am supposed to believe you simply have poor timing in regards to growing a spine," Vader spat back at him, closing the gap between them even more.

Nulon began clutching backwards towards the window, sweating pouring from his brow and his teeth chattering wildly. He was whimpering incessantly as Vader moved closer. Everyone in the room could feel his fear and abject terror as the right hand of the Emperor bared down on him.

"Lord Vader, please, I didn't mean to jeopardize the operation," he pathetically pleaded. "It was poor judgment on my part, nothing more. I apologize, I sincerely do! I'll make it right! I promise! I'll send forces to eradicate the Rebels! Throw them off the planet if we have to!"

"No you will not," Vader replied, unmoved by the Overseer's begging.

Nulon pressed himself against the window as Vader looked down on him. He looked so small up against the black figure, shaking like a dying leaf on the edge of branch in the wind. Sakal didn't know what to think. He was angry with the man, of course. That didn't mean he liked seeing him so badly frightened.

"I would interrogate you in order to discover the truth," Vader explained, his face nearly touching Nulon as it glared at him. "But I neither have the time or the equipment to do so. At the moment, I now must consider you are one of two things, a traitor or an incompetent liability. You have shown proof of both. And I cannot afford either."

Vader suddenly turned around, facing away from Nulon. The Overseer looked confused for a moment, as did everyone else. Why the sudden last minute reprieve? Perhaps Nulon was to be carted into the brig until further notice? Yes, to Sakal that seemed most likely.

Then, without any warning, Vader ignited his lightsaber and thrust it backwards. It pierced through the Overseer's chest, stabbing him through the heart. Sakal looked on in terror, Boll gasped, placing her hands to her mouth while Klusto backed away from the scene and towards the Doctor. Vader turned back slowly towards Nulon, his grip tightening on his lightsaber as he did. He then slowly pulled the red blade out, watching Nulon's pained expression as he did. The Overseer's breathing was more sporadic and heavy. He clutched at the hole in his torso, burning smoldering hole left where the blade of light had gone through him. He fell to his knees grasping towards Vader pleadingly.

That was when the Dark Lord stretched out his hand and through some invisible force threw the Overseer into the window. The glass shattered and Nulon flew out into the open sky. He then plummeted towards the ground like a sack of rocks. Sakal turned his sight away as the body started to descend. Vader turned back towards the stunned Senior Staff members that remained, his lightsaber still active.

"We will deal with the monster first," he declared coolly and dispassionately. "The Rebels will be hunted down as soon as it is destroyed. Work will continue on the Cyber Zillo-Beast prototype as planned. In fact, you will complete all final preparations as soon as possible. I will no longer accept failure, incompetence or excuses of any kind. You will prove your worth to the Empire or suffer a fate not unlike that of Overseer Nulon."

Everyone remained silent as Vader looked at them. Boll eventually bowed her head and Klusto followed suit. Sakal just saluted, trying to maintain some sense of dignity. With that, Vader deactivated his lightsaber and began to walk away.

"Destroy Alpha Predator One, General," he ordered as he left. "I would hate to be forced to repeat this lesson."

And then he left, leaving all who had just witnessed Nulon's death paralyzed with fear. Sakal watched as he left, hardly able to breathe from the shock of what he had just saw. A colleague had been killed right in front of him and the man who did it had barely felt a thing while doing it. Despite what Lord Vader had said, he didn't believe him for a second when he had said he would hate to repeat the action. In fact, he was probably already looking forward to it.

It brought a grim reality up to the surface at last. Either he killed Alpha Predator One or Vader would kill him. There was no other alternative. Moments ago he had been confident, proud and sure of himself in the face of Vader for once. It had been a fleeting moment, one he would never feel again so long as Vader was concerned. He looked back to the window that Nulon had been ejected out of. Whether he was a traitor or not didn't matter, Sakal now knew he had been right to be afraid. Not of the monster out there, but of the one inside with them, looming over their shoulders like a dark shadow.

Sakal refocused his mind back on the matter at hand. He needed to kill the damn lizard and fast. Before Vader felt the need to repeat his lesson on him next.

* * *

Kamo didn't know what to expect when they arrived at the quarry. A big bomb, a new super weapon they were developing, maybe just more tanks and guns, that's what he was thinking they'd be using. Instead, he was surprised to see the plan had been switched up a little. For some reason there were a lot of Ray Shield Generators positioned around the edge of the pit and inside it. They made up several layers of protection that covered the entire quarry. It didn't take long for him to figure out what they were doing.

"They're going to lock him inside," he told Arch and Devo. "They're turning the quarry into a prison cell."

"Fat lot of good that will do," Arch cynically stated. "He'll just break out somehow. Probably overload the ray shields or something with his bad breath."

"Maybe there's more to the plan," Devo suggested. "I doubt Command just wants to contain him, not after all the trouble he's caused."

Kamo suspected the Lieutenant was right, the Empire wasn't much for just capturing troublemakers. Even if this thing was just a giant lizard, it had been making a fool of them for awhile. They couldn't let that slide. They had to kill him, just trapping him in a bubble wouldn't be enough.

The trio of Troopers eventually made their way to a small command post where fellow soldiers were being assigned stations for the coming battle. Datapads with instructions were being given to every Trooper as they arrived. Apparently there was little to no time to give a full briefing to everyone. That meant the big reptile was already on his way.

They were also being assigned weapons, mostly launchers. The stand out though was looked to be a modified flamethrower pack. Kamo remembered how some of the Clones had used them in the war, specifically on non-clankers. You couldn't really burn a droid. It was a pretty cruel way to go, but that was the nature of the entire conflict with the Seppies. Compared to what Count Dooku's cronies had done, setting said cronies on fire didn't seem nearly as bad to him.

However, Kamo soon realized that the modifications for the packs weren't there to allow them to hold more fuel or to shoot farther. The hazard symbol on the back, the greenish glow from the containers that had been plugged into it, the fact the nozzle looked more like a sprayer and that it lacked an ignition flame were all dead giveaways. These throwers no longer contained fuel, they had something far worse than that inside. A fact all but confirmed when he overheard the Trooper handing out the weapons list of the safety instructions.

"Remember, make sure your armor is sealed before firing," he warned them all as he handed out the gear. "Be sure to aim with the wind too. Otherwise its going to come back on your squad and not the target."

Kamo approached along with Arch as the squad in front of them collected their packs and walked on. He probably should've just taken the pack himself and done the same, but he couldn't help but ask the nagging question in his mind aloud. His thoughts were still swimming, wondering about the mockup town and what it was for. Now this matter had popped up out of nowhere and it just seemed to convenient for them to just have this stuff on hand.

"I didn't know we had chemical throwers," Kamo said to the Sergeant of Arms. "I figured the Senate banned them."

"The Senate does a lot of things," The Sergeant replied gruffly. "Don't mean we have to listen. Besides, when emergency measures get called down, the rule books on what we can and can't use go out the window. This is an emergency and I doubt the senate is going to give a crap about us using gas to kill the overgrown angry dewback that's running around."

Kamo eyed the green-glowing gas canister plugged into the pack. It looked strangely familiar somehow, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Before he could question further, Arch did it for him.

"What's it loaded with?" He asked.

"Don't know, don't care," the Sergeant of Arms answered plainly. "All I know is that they say it will kill the lizard and I'm hoping they're right. Now do you want one or not? Because if not, I'll assign you another position."

"We'll take a few," Kamo answered quickly. "We need every advantage we can get."

The Sergeant of Arms handed the pack over to the old Clone, gave another to Arch, listed off the safety requirements and sent them on their way. Arch double checked his suit's seals as he eyed the thrower in his hands. He didn't seem all that comfortable with it.

"Never thought I'd be using these," he stated. "I guess Command is getting desperate to kill that thing."

"Only thing we haven't tried so far is choking him to death," Kamo shrugged. "It's a better plan than I expected. This quarry isn't a cell, it's a gas chamber."

"Yeah, and we're the administration system," Arch half-heartedly joked.

The Scout Trooper didn't seem all the enthusiastic about that fact. Maybe, like Kamo, he suspected there was something off about them having a gas weapon here. Why hadn't they used it before on other mutants? What did it do? How long had they had it here? Was it part of the reason the Empire had set up shop on this planet? Kamo couldn't say for sure. All he knew was that it didn't sit right in his gut. Something was odd about this, he just didn't know what exactly it was. Not yet anyway.

After getting their weapons, the two found Devo by a repulsorlift shaft that headed down into the quarry caverns beneath them. He eyed the throwers on their backs for a moment, but quickly put the matter aside. He apparently had other matters on his mind.

"My Jumptroopers are going to be running interference for you guys while you hit with the spray," he explained. "The idea seems to be to hit him from all sides so he doesn't know where to focus his attacks. Where did they station you?"

Kamo looked at his datapad and quickly read the contents.

"We're on one of the mining trains, mid-levels," he explained. "They're going to have them loop around the quarry and pump gas at him as will travel along. It should achieve full saturation of the quarry, if everything goes as planned."

When did anything go to plan though? Never, as far as this creature was concerned at least. Kamo didn't voice that though, he didn't want to showcase his concerns right now. On the whole he thought it was a good idea that could work. It was just he kept getting a nagging feeling that it wouldn't be so simple.

"Just keep your armor sealed," Devo warned. "One slip up and you'll be the ones saturated."

At that moment, a klaxon alarm sounded, alerting every trooper in camp.

"_Alpha Predator One sighted!" _Shouted an Officer over the comms. _"Approaching target area at rapid speed! All hands to stations!"_

That was their cue. Kamo and Arch rushed into the lift, while Devo moved to reconvene with his fellow Jumptroopers. As the lift began to descend into the caverns below where their train waited, Kamo did his best to steel himself. This was it, their last best chance to take this thing out. With any luck, this gas would keep the lizard from thinking straight and it wouldn't be able to outsmart them this time. All they had to do was keep him contained long enough for the gas to do its job. But he doubted the monster would die so easily. Cornered and wounded animals always fought back all the harder. This thing was more than just an animal though and that made it all the more dangerous.

* * *

He could smell a storm rolling in on the horizon, hear the distant thunder from miles away. An ominous omen to some, but a timely chorus to Godzilla. He could sense the desperation of his enemies, their feeble efforts on that island were proof enough of that. It was only a matter of time before they were broken and he'd be finally free of their presence. The White-Clad humans would fall and Godzilla's new dominion would be assured.

He could already see where they had taken the energy he had sensed from before. A large pit carved deep into a large plateau, no doubt created by the humans so they could feed their need for whatever resources this world held. Scavengers, parasites, leeches, always seeking to burrow and drill and break the ground to satisfy their selfish wants and desires. The only thing that set this pit apart was how deep it was compared to others on Earth. They had really dug deep, he could already feel it just from the vibrations he felt as he stomped forward.

Did they think they could hide the energy he had sensed in something so far beneath the surface? More arrogant folly on their part. There was no cavern, artificial or otherwise that could deter him. He could already tell there were large portions of the pit's carved out sides that he could walk down on. They had practically given him a staircase. Perhaps they hoped to trap him somehow then, lead him in and collapse the rock on top of him. A possibility, but he highly doubted it. Even if they did intend to lure him in, he could just climb out. It would just be another futile attempt to confine him.

He recalled how the humans back home had tried this before. They had used an island of course and not a pit, but the premise was the same. Put him some place isolated and forget him, like a common animal at one of their zoos, as they called them. They at least had reason to think it would work, it had with the others, his fellow titans, his kindred of sorts. Oh they left to stretch their legs now and again, but more often than not they kept themselves confined for one reason or another.

For example, Anguirus, one of his more trusted allies over the years. When the first version of his robotic doppelganger arrived, Anguirus had warned him of the danger and helped him defeat it. When other threats loomed, Godzilla had counted on the stubby little spike ball to back him up. However, Anguirus never had the same grudge against humans. He was a great warrior, but he had no desire to seek combat. The human's island offered him peace and he rarely saw a reason to leave anymore.

Rodan had been far less forgiving of the humans, especially after what they had did to him over the years. However, the ancient flying saurian had grown tired of the constant struggle. Despite everything, Rodan had just wanted a place to roost and the humans to stay out of his way. The island was a decent enough compromise to him.

Then there was poor Titanosaurus, a poster child for the abuses of man. He had been mind controlled, brainwashed, mentally tortured by one group of humans or another. All in efforts to use him against his own kind, mainly against Godzilla himself. The poor aquatic dinosaur's brain had been under such strain from all the attempts to contort and bend his will. He wanted it to stop and so he let the island become his retreat. His anger against the humans for what they had done to him had been dulled and while he still had inner strength and a warrior's spirit, his will was not nearly as strong as his heart. He too had compromised and let the humans jail him. It was better than becoming their tool again.

And of course there was Baragon, who half the time wasn't really sure about anything. He was far too lazy and complacent to ever be a real threat to man. He preferred to just lounge about the beaches of the island soaking up sun. The same was true of Gorosaurus, who thrived on the four square meals of meat the humans flew in to keep him and other carnivorous kaiju content. The Gargantuan twins were too busy constantly battling with each other now and then to care about man. The yellow one in particular seemed to want to keep the green one stuck on the island with him, like he was another jailor inside the jail. Kumonga just sat in that crater eating whatever the humans threw down into his web, Kamacuras just hung around said crater nibbling at scraps and Kamoebas just slept at the bottom of the bay all day like the big fat hedonistic turtle he was.

Capitulation, laziness, contentment, compromise, surrender, that's what characterized those who stayed on that Monster Island. Creatures who let the humans cordon them off to a secluded little corner of the world so they could do as they please with the rest of it. Godzilla could never accept that, never let the humans shut him up and forget he existed. He wouldn't give them that satisfaction. A king did not bow to maggots because they felt they were owed their piece of land. The very thought of letting them get away with their crimes outraged Godzilla. The idea they could just lock him away was just an added insult.

Only one other of his kind was able to avoid captivity. However, it was only because she fancied herself more defender than judge. Mothra, always the kindly pacifist willing to defend man from evil within and without. The literal avatar of Earth itself, her offspring carrying the legacy through the genetic memories of times past. Godzilla had known her almost as long as Anguirus and Rodan. Like them, they had once been enemies, although that view had softened.

She still interfered from time to time, but Godzilla had grown past trying to do away with her. It was pointless, she'd be reincarnated eventually anyway. Besides, she had become more busy battling her alter ego, the far less peaceful and more malevolent Battra. Like him, Battra disliked mankind as much as Godzilla, but his reasons were more generalized and not nearly as personal. The black moth's actions seemed only to be a dark reflection of Mothra, the yang to her yin. Acting only because it what he was manifested as and not because of anything man had done to him. It never felt genuine and it was why Godzilla never counted him as a friend.

Mothra at least was a creature he could reason with, one who at least felt sincere. That didn't make her right, but at least Godzilla could respect her commitment. They clashed from time to time, but she had also assisted him when the humans went too far on something or other. She never saw things in absolutes like he did, perhaps it came with having an evil twin. To her, humans weren't wholly bad or good, they were most of the time misguided or at least had the best intentions. Godzilla felt the viewpoint was embarrassingly naive, but he could tell Mothra believed in it with all her soul. That conviction was enough to earn his respect.

For decades now she had been trying to spread that philosophy to him though. Of course, their discussions were not like that of humans. They communicated through thought, movement, smells and sound that were beyond the feeble understanding of man. It was the language of his kind, one of gesture and thought that few outside their world could comprehend. Only Mothra's people of Infant Island seemed to truly connect with that of the Kaiju. It was because of this connection that Mothra argued her case, that man and monster could live together as equals. All it required was a sense of mutual respect and cooperation. She kept expressing some high hope for him as well, that Godzilla could move past his rage and anger, forgive the humans for the pain they caused. To her, he could be more than just a symbol of punishment and destruction. Godzilla could be a defender, a force for something greater than revenge.

Godzilla rejected this outright. Man did not deserve a defender, it did not deserve protection, it deserved retribution. Their sins could not and would not be forgotten. He refused to be broken like his fellow Kaiju, forced onto an island to grow fat and lazy. Mothra had her throng of worshipers, but they were nothing but stupid little insects bowing to her and every offspring she spawned like dumb monkeys. They only listened to her because she was akin to a God in their eyes.

Likewise, the humans attacked him because they recognized that this was true of him too. To their eyes, he was near as close to a God as any being on Earth. It was why they hated him, why they attacked him, hurt him, hounded him, he was a living reminder of their sin and the adjudicator of their reckoning. Man had to kill what they could not control, it had to kill what did not give in to them. For no one could be God but them it seemed and Godzilla's very existence challenged that. He had greater power than they ever could and that scared them.

But he didn't have to concern himself with those fearful little cowards. He had a new set of like-minded humans to deal with instead. Only this time, they were fewer in number. They didn't cover this planet like a cancer, they could be snuffed out and this world disinfected. Then he could rule a new kingdom in peace, with no arrogant little insects seeking to reassert themselves to a position they could never obtain. Mothra could have her worshipers, mankind could have Earth. He'd settle for this planet, a new kingdom where he could rule in relative peace at last without surrendering in order to achieve it. A world that finally belonged to him once more. True paradise and not the fake one that had been constructed on that stupid island. All he had to do was keep fighting until his new enemy broke and he knew it wouldn't be long until they did.

Stepping onto the edge of the pit, Godzilla peered down to see the large rock lips left in the side of the stone. There were small structures on various levels, possibly there to house those who labored here when they weren't scraping away at the rock. At least their little worker hovels would allow him easy access to the pit. He descended the stone staircase slowly bit surely, smashing the little buildings beneath his massive feet as he walked. All the way down, Godzilla expected to be attacked, expected the humans to start shooting. However, this time, the White-Clad soldiers didn't appear. They were probably hiding, quaking in fear as their prideful leaders held them back for the moment. They would strike soon though, but he'd have the energy source by then.

He reached the bottom of the pit at last and looked around. Nothing but mining equipment and containers strewn across the rocky floor. As Godzilla moved forward and looked for the energy source he heard something rumble behind him. He turned just in time to see the stone steps explode one after the other. Rock tumbled away from the cliff, sliding down to the pit floor. Godzilla moved away before the rock-slide could bury him. It was easy enough, he had gotten far enough away already. The humans were too slow with their little trap. They thought he couldn't climb out of this pit. He'd show them how wrong they were soon enough. First though, he'd get the energy source.

Soon he sensed it, in the very center of the quarry, between several large upright metal structures, was a big metal container holding the energy he sought. It was a bit bigger than he had suspected, the flying machine had probably just added its cargo to what was already inside this thing. No matter, it only meant more energy for him. Godzilla now approached the container rapidly, tired of waiting to claim his prize. He walked up to the metal box and bent down to grab it in his claws. Then, without warning, it exploded in front of him.

The blast blinded Godzilla for a few brief seconds while the shockwave forced him to stumble backwards. When his sight returned, bits of shrapnel and debris were embedded in his arm now. As for the energy, what little remained was dispersed now. He began scraping away at the shrapnel stuck in his scales, only to have his attention torn away by another sound. The large metal structures around him suddenly collapsed, revealing large metal poles inside. Suddenly, the poles came to life and electricity began to shoot between them. Within moments, the bands of artificial lighting formed a fence around him. Not longer after, another electronic sound whistled from above as a red shield energy covered the top of the pit. A second barrier of red energy then activated beneath that, blocking off the upper levels of the pit.

The humans had managed to trick him somehow, he should've suspected when things seemed too easy. If they thought they could trap him though, they'd find themselves gravely mistaken. He'd break free of this multilayered cell easy enough, he had plenty of time in any case. However as he roared up at the walls, he heard shots being fired from the rocky cliffs. He looked to see what looked to be human trains racing around the different sections of the quarry's levels and small human aircraft lifting up into the sky. They started firing what looked to be more missiles and shells, but none of them hit him directly. They crashed down all around Godzilla within the electrical fence perimeter. Mere seconds after landing they started spewing out some weird green cloud began to creep towards him, slowly surrounding him as more missiles and shells landed.

Gas, they intended to kill him with gas. For a moment Godzilla wondered if they were truly desperate, but as he sniffed the air, a foul odor entered his nostrils and he felt a slight pain in his throat. The pain slowly started to rise and Godzilla realized the truth. It was happening again. These humans had made a weapon that could hurt him, like that one all those years ago that had nearly killed him. Just like this gas it was intended to suffocate and eat away at him. He only escaped from it by the slimmest of margins.

That blasted weapon had come back to haunt him once before and now these humans had created something very much like it. The White Clad army had reminded him of his pain as well as added to it. He would not let them succeed, he would not die like this, to a coward's weapon of suffocation made by these insects. But more and more of the gas started to cascade around him, he could feel his life ebbing away slowly. It would only be a matter of time, so he had to act quickly. He would not let this quarry become his tomb.

* * *

The _Ghost_ arrived shortly after the creature entered the quarry. Looking on from above and out of sight of the Imperials below, they watched as the monster was bombarded with green gas. Imperial Transport Gunships fired missiles loaded with the toxic stuff at the giant lizard while trains carrying chemical launchers fired gas shells all around him. The monster was being smothered to death, slowly but surely. Hera watched through through the magnified scope on her dashboard as the reptile struggled to break free of the electrical barrier that surrounded him. She imagined he'd figure a way out eventually, but he was still stuck beneath the quarry's ray shield. He'd never get out in time before the entire pit was flooded with gas.

"What is that stuff?" Zeb asked, looking over Hera's shoulder. "Looks familiar."

"It was on that old footage of the Zillo-Beast, remember?" Sabine reminded him. "It's the same gas they used to kill the original one on Coruscant."

"We should've suspected this," Ahsoka reasoned, sitting across from Hera. "The Empire would need a way to control their genetically-modified clone if it got out of hand. So they made more of the gas just in case. Easy to do, considering they pretty much own every pump on Malastare now."

Hera looked back to the scope, watching the creature continue to roar and struggle to break out of the electrical barrier and escape the growing cloud. For once the poor thing didn't look nearly as terrifying as it had when they had first saw it. Instead, it looked like any ordinary creature just trying to survive in a desperate situation. Hera could sympathize with that at least.

"If we're going to save him we need to act fast," Hera informed everyone. "Turning off those ray shields and stopping the Imperials from filling his lungs with toxic fumes would be a start."

"We need to get in first," Kanan was quick to point out. "We can't exactly do any of that from out here. We have to find some kind of lift or back door into the quarry that bypasses the shield."

Hera pulled the magnified scope off the struggling lizard and surveyed the surrounding pit. Eventually, she spotted something that stood out among the rock. She instantly pointed to it, a maintenance lift guarded by Stormtroopers, exactly the thing Kanan had said they needed.

"They must use this to get works down into the deeper regions of the quarry faster," she observed. "It's outside the ray shield and I only see a few guards, single squad."

"Heh, we can get by them easily enough," Zeb chortled. "They're probably not even expecting us."

"We can land in the rocks about a mile away and ride in on our hoverbikes," Kanan quickly devised. "Take them fast and hard, then get ourselves down below. That's when the hard part starts, they got a lot of men down in those tunnels by now, we'll be heavily outnumbered."

"With any luck they'll be too busy killing the monster to bother with us," Ahsoka suggested. "We move fast enough and the Imperials won't know what's going wrong until it's too late and our scaly friend gets his second wind."

Kanan nodded in agreement, quickly devising an additional element to the plan itself.

"We'll need two teams to pull this off fast enough," he stated. "Ezra, Ahsoka and me can got after the chemical weapons. Hera, you should lead the others to help shut down those ray shields. Whoever manages to succeed first can link up with the others and help finish their job."

"And then we figure out a way to talk to the thing, right?" Ezra asked.

Kanan just looked at his apprentice incredulously.

"One step at a time here," the older Jedi told him. "I'm still not big on that idea just yet."

"I'm just wondering how we're going to talk to it if we decide to," Ezra explained. "I mean, how exactly is this going to work?"

"I'll walk you through it once we're ready," Ahsoka assured him. "For now, your master is right, one problem at a time."

Kanan huffed slightly at that remark, Ahsoka ignored it but Hera just rolled her eyes. She was happy he wasn't as confrontational as he had been before, but she could tell when he was holding back on a sarcastic jab. Before she could mull further on the subject though, Chopper started wortling at them all. Something about a transmission from their escort, Moira's Raiders. Hera opened a channel and Moira's holographic image appeared on the dashboard.

"_We got a problem folks,"_ she warned. _"Jetty just managed to pick up a wing of TIE Bombers on long range sensors. No idea why they're on approach for the quarry but I think it has something to do with our big friend down there and the green cloud slowly choking him to death. Estimated arrival is in about half an hour."_

"More gas I bet," Hera guessed. "They'll open the Ray Shield just long enough to drop it in, and likely not big enough for the monster to climb out anyway."

"Then we need to act fast," Ahsoka reasoned, turning to Moira's image. "Intercept the bombers, Moira. Do not let them reach the quarry. When we shut down the ray shields, fly in an provide fighter supporter to take down the Imperial Gunships."

"_No problem," _Moira assured them. _"We'll take as many out as we can and regroup when we're done. Raider Lead, out."_

Moira ended transmission, leaving the crew of the _Ghost _and Ahsoka by themselves once more.

"They're really not taking any chances this time," Zeb noted.

"You know how the Empire is," Sabine spoke up derisively. "If they can't control something, they just wipe it out. And they throw everything they have into crushing it."

"Well if we still want to stop them then we gotta act fast," Kanan declared. "Hera, take us down. We need to get into that quarry now."

Hera nodded and turned the ship towards the rocks below. She had to admit, of all the missions she had gone on, this one's objective was a bit odd. She had faith that Ahsoka was right about this creature, but she understood Kanan's concerns too. Hopefully, if they succeeded, the big lizard would be grateful. Both because they really needed it's help to complete the raid and because she really didn't want to get eaten by the big angry dewback.

* * *

For the moment, Kamo hadn't been able to use his chemical thrower. The creature was already being gassed by everything else and was still not past the electrical barrier. When the time came, the orders would come down and they'd unleash everything in their packs. So far though, the gas was doing its work. Every missile and shell that landed near the big lizard was choking the life out of him. And trapped behind the electrical barrier as he was, he could not flee to safety. They finally had him.

Kamo watched as another volley of missiles from the gunships cascaded across the creature's back and up towards his head. Even now, the beast was growing sluggish, his swipes and jabs slower than usual and his stance wobbling slightly. It wasn't exactly an honorable fight to be sure, but he doubted any Trooper here cared. After seeing so many of their friends get killed by this thing, escaping every ambush and fighting off every assault, fairness didn't matter anymore. They just wanted Alpha Predator One dead and Kamo couldn't rightly say he disagreed.

"Yeah, choke on it, you dumb grey cold-blooded son of a womp rat!" Arch shouted over the creature's pained screams. "Choke on it hard!"

The Private's cries were echoed by nearby Troopers, some even whistled. The men arming the launcher on their flatbed even took a moment to join in before they fired off another shell. The shot went straight up into the sky and then fell back to earth close to the lizard's head. The scream from the beast elicited a laugh from several Troopers.

"That's what you get when you mess with the Empire!" Shouted one.

"Not so badass now, are ya?" Another tauntingly asked.

Kamo would've joined in with the cheering, but he wasn't about to celebrate prematurely. Until the creature stopped moving, until it stopped breathing, this was hardly over. He knew as much because he suspected the giant lizard felt the same. That was what they taught in the first days of training back on Kamino, know your enemy, think like him and never suspect he will quit easily. If you think that for a moment, then you might as well shoot yourself then and there. Because Clone Troopers don't quit and neither do their enemies. This monster was a survivor, Kamo knew that now. He wouldn't stop fighting, not when he still thought he had a chance.

Once again, Alpha Predator One charged the barrier, slamming his massive girth against the field. The attack only caused him to scream louder, his attempts to break through useless. As the reptile pulled back, he dropped on all fours in front of one of the poles. The Troopers once more started cheering, thinking this was the end, but Kamo knew better. He put up his hand and shouted over them.

"Quiet," he yelled aloud. "He's not even close to done, not yet."

As Kamo predicted, the creature's brain was kicking into gear. Through his macrobinoculars, the Clone saw the big lizard digging his claws into the earth. Soil and stone were thrown into the air, as the titanic reptile burrowed beneath one of the barrier generator poles. Once the others realized what was going on their murmuring and jeers silenced completely. Alpha Predator One took only less than a minute to rip into the rock floor of the quarry and reach the bottom of the generator pole. He then snapped his jaws into the hole and pulled out several wires and bits of metal. The pole started to wobble and shift. Sparks shot out from its base as the monster ripped into it.

Then, suddenly, Alpha Predator One pulled the pole free of its mooring. The electrical tower toppled to the ground. The barrier's circuit was broken and electrical energy fence vanished. The overgrown dewback then picked up the downed tower and, using it like a club, smashed another of the poles with a single swing. He then tossed the pole through the air, where spun several times over until it smashed into the the rock wall of the quarry. As bits of stone tumbled down from above, Kamo turned to the Stormtroopers.

"Alright, he's out," he told them all. "They said this was gonna happen. He's still trapped though, only difference now is we gotta earn this. You all know your stations, so get to it!"

The Stormtroopers moved into position as the repulsorlift train started up. As they begun to move around the track, Kamo and other troopers armed with chemical throwers took up positions along the side of the car. The fired their packs, launching out clouds of gas down into the pit below. Their train would circle the entire quarry, creating a wall of green mist that would kep the monster back. Other trains manned by Stormtroopers themselves were doing the same, creating layers upon layers of gas to saturate the area.

Meanwhile, Alpha Predator One rushed out of the center of the quarry, roaring in defiance as he did. The tanks and gunships circling kept firing their payloads at him, while the beast did his best to avoid the shots. Right now, he was trying to avoid the choking clouds, the only real move he had for the moment. Now and then, the creature kicked a rock or swung an arm at his attackers, but the effects of the gas had still dulled his senses and reactions. As long as the gas kept circulating through his system, he'd be on the defensive.

"Spray in intervals," Kamo ordered. "Don't use up the whole pack! Fire shells along his path as we move! We got to keep him corralled until the TIEs show up!"

When that happened, then they'd have him for real. He'd be hit with tons of gas from the air, along with high explosives. He'd be too weak by then to withstand that kind of assault. They just had to keep him weakened long enough for that to happen. The lizard wouldn't let up, he would't quit and neither would they. Today, in this quarry, Alpha Predator One would die.

* * *

The Stormtroopers on guard near the lift could hear the monster's cries, but got no satisfaction from it. They didn't get to watch with their brothers in arms the death of the overgrown Trandoshan that had caused them so much trouble. It was rather disheartening to them to be so close and yet so far from the best seats in the house. However, the monster's screaming also had the effect of masking a roar of another kind, that of three hover bike engines.

Before they even knew what was happening, the bikes were upon them. Kanan, riding on the first bike with Ezra on the back, fired two shots into one Trooper before skidding his bike to the side. The bike slammed into the side of another Trooper, knocking him to the ground. He and Ezra both jumped off and began shooting at the Stormtroopers still standing. At the same time, Sabine, on a second bike, fired off her own shots into the Imperials as she ran circles around the area. Hera raced in as well on a third bike, but didn't fire. Instead she let Zeb jump off the back of the vehicle and tackle a Trooper to the ground. When he got up, he unleashed his Bo-Rifle's staff mode and began shocking the Imperials around him.

One last bike slammed into the back of a Stormtrooper who tried to fire on Sabine and Hera as they circled. Ahsoka let off the throttle slowly and turned the bike into a skid. She leapt off the bike, landing gracefully before rushing into a Stormtrooper and striking him in the neck. As he grasped at his injured neck, Ahsoka ducked low and swept her leg across the ground. The Stormtrooper fell onto his back where the togruta then stomp on his head, knocking him out.

"Nice to know I still got it," she said, dusting off he hands. It had been awhile since she had been in the field directly.

It was all over in under twenty seconds, the Stormtrooper taken completely by surprise. Kanan's little swift strike plan had worked, they would be able to get inside the quarry caverns undetected as the troopers hadn't had time to report their attack. Chopper, racing in from the rocks where they had launched their charge, rushed over to the lift's controls and hacked in. It unlocked and everyone quickly piled on to it.

"We best put our breathers on," Hera said as she opened up a pack she had brought with her. "We don't want to breath in any of that gas."

Everyone grabbed at one of five breather masks that would fit over their mouths. Chopper didn't need one of course, being a droid and all. Sabine's helmet would work to keep the green mist out on her end, so she didn't need one either. Everyone else was vulnerable though, even the Jedi among them. The gas had been designed to kill monsters, but they all suspected that didn't make it safe for regular people to breath in.

As everyone strapped on their masks, Zeb slammed his fist on the lift controls. They started their way down into the caverns, right behind the ray shields. They could hear the monster's struggle growing loud as they dropped lower and lower into the quarry's caverns. Finally, the lift stopped and they all piled out. They moved out towards the open air and looked down into the pit, where the giant lizard was lashing out against the Imperials desperately.

"Okay," Kanan told everyone as Ahsoka and Ezra joined him. "We'll start hitting the Stormtroopers and their weapons. Get them off the big guy."

"Looks like they're using the mining trains to saturate the area," Ahsoka noted, pointing across the way to train racing along the edge of the pit, a green smoke pouring out from its side.

"They're making the most of the stuff," Ezra reasoned. "We should go after them first."

"Good as place to start as any," Kanan agreed, turning to Hera's team. "Think you can find the ray shield generators?"

Sabine nodded and held up her wrist computer.

"I can focus in on their electronic signature," she assured. "Once we find them we can start taking them apart. But we'll need to take out a lot of them to bring down the grid."

"We'll handle it," Hera confidently stated. "Just stop those trains."

The teams went off in different directions now, heading down opposite ends of the cavern. Kanan only looked back briefly at them as they took off down their corridor. Already they could hear the monster's roar bellowing close by. The big lizard was moving closer to them it seemed, probably trying to find a way to get out of this pit. He could also hear Imperial gunships speeding by, positioning to attack the monster from a different angle. Moments later the sound of missiles firing could be heard, followed by another pained roar. The Imperials really weren't letting up on this attack, that was for sure.

It didn't take long to find some repulsorlift tracks, nor did it take them long to hear a train coming down them. What happened next would take a little finesse to pull off. The three Force Users waited in th shadow for a moment, listening to the approaching train. As it got closer, Kanan turned to Ezra.

"You ready?" He asked hurriedly.

"I've leapt on to faster moving objects before," Ezra replied, although sounding a bit nervous.

"Just let the Force guide you," Kanan told him. "You'll be fine."

The train soon coasted into view and, in an instant, all three Force Users leapt towards the train flatbed as it passed. They landed on the car, although Ezra sort of rolled a bit and knocked into the back of a Stormtrooper with a chemical thrower. The Imperial turned, surprised at what was lying at his feet. Ezra smiled nervously up at him through his gas mask. Before the Trooper could react, Kanan used a Force Push to send the Buckethead flying off the side of the train.

Already the other Imperials aboard were shocked to find three interlopers among them. One of them, not seeing the breathing masks they were all wearing, fired his pack at them. Gas spewed out at Ahsoka, but even if she wasn't wearing a mask it wouldn't matter. She used the Force to push the gas out around her and then back at the Stormtrooper. His own sealed armor protected him, but it wouldn't matter in another second. The togruta ignited both of her white lightsabers and cut through the green cloud and the Stormtrooper within it. Kanan had already pulled out his own lightsaber, as did Ezra who had quickly gotten back to his feet.

"Jedi!" Shouted one of the Stormtroopers in a panic. "Holy crap! Jedi!"

"Don't just sand there!" One of the less frightened Troopers screamed as he fumbled to get his rifle out. "Forget the gas and blast them!"

The Trooper finally managed to get his rifle out, just as Ahsoka sliced through it and Force Pushed him into his own men. The other Stormtroopers on the flatbed started opening fire, only for their shots to be deflected by the three Jedi standing before them. The laser bolts struck at their shooters, or cut into the packs they still wore. Gas seeped out of them, covering the flat bed in green mist. The only things anyone could see were the blades of light from the Jedi now.

Ahsoka, Ezra and Kanan raced through the toxic cloud, using the Force to guide them. They struck quickly as they moved along, cutting down the Stormtroopers as they fired wildly into the green fog. When they exited the cloud, the three of them leapt over to the second flat bed for the train. More Stormtroopers and a mortar cannon were set up there, their attention broke away from the creature.

"I got the launcher," Ahsoka told the other two. "You take the Troopers!"

Ahsoka flung one of her lightsabers out in front of her, letting it spin through the air. Stormtroopers rushed to get out of the way, dropping down to the deck as the blade spun towards them. The saber finally cut into the cannon itself, cutting it in two across the magazine. The gunner had just barely gotten away before it exploded.

Kanan and Ezra kept blocking shots from incoming laser fire. They only stopped briefly to knock the Bucketheads off the side of the train with Force Push attacks. When enough of them were thinned out, they charged forward. Kanan cut down one Trooper as he tried to back up. Ezra did the same, slicing through the rifle before tossing the Stormtrooper off the moving train with his Force Push. Ahsoka joined in shortly after, racing ahead of the two and leaping into a spin. Her blades to cut the last two Troopers down in quick succession as she landed between them.

With the flatbed clear, Kanan race dup to the engine car. He found an Imperial Officer working the controls. He grabbed the man by the collar as he feebly fumbled for his blaster.

"End of the line for you," he said as he tossed the Imperial off the side, the slam of the Imp's body into a rock behind them clearly audible as they continued to race along the track.

Kanan turned back to Ezra and Ahsoka, who both had incredulous looks on their faces.

"What?" He asked confused.

"Can we refrain from train puns, please?" Ahsoka asked.

"Yeah," Ezra sheepishly agreed, scratching the back of his neck. "It's... kinda lame."

Kanan just rolled his eyes.

"Look, it just came out, alright?" He said, trying his best to defend himself. "I'm sorry."

Ahsoka pushed past him and took up the train's controls.

"Let's see if we can use the on board computer to find the other trains," she suggested. "Should make this a lot easier."

"I got it," Ezra said, taking out one of his security spikes and placing it into the computer. "I may not be a splicer, but I should be able to bring up the tracking program. Should tell us where to go."

"And then we'll just switch tracks and ride the train to the next target," Kanan determined. "They will figure out what's happening eventually when enough of the green gas gets shut off."

Ahsoka nodded in agreement.

"We best not get used to these trains being easy targets for long," Ahsoka reasoned. "Let's hope we can hit enough of them fast enough to give that monster some literal breathing room."

"And that Hera has already started on those Ray Shield generators," Kanan added, hearing a pained roar from the monster as he spoke. "That lizard doesn't stand a chance otherwise."

* * *

It was hard to say who had the more difficult job. Three Jedi against Stormtroopers wasn't exactly good odds for the Empire, but then again there were a lot of trains and a lot of Stormtroopers. Hera's team at least didn't have to worry about moving targets, but they were just as sufficiently guarded as anything. As they found when they located their first Ray Shield generator, there were a lot of Troopers protecting the thing.

They were all armed with Arc Casters, which was odd until Hera figured it out. That electrical barrier had held the monster at bay for awhile, obviously electricity didn't agree with it. They were here to keep the lizard away from the generators. They weren't expecting Rebels. That gave them an advantage.

"Toss in a grenade," she told Sabine. "Then we rush them in the confusion."

"I got a few modified ones," the Mandalorian replied snarkily. "You want orange, purple or crimson?"

"Just throw one," Zeb growled.

Sabine shrugged and tossed out one of the explosives. It landed near the feet of one Trooper, bounced slightly and then blew up in mid-air in a cloud of fire and purple paint smoke. While the Bucketheads struggled to comprehend what had happened and wipe the paint off their visors, Hera and her team moved in with guns blazing.

Two Stormtroopers went down hard as the twi'lek nimbly filled them full of holes. She then slid into cover behind some rocks. Zeb's Bo-Rifle managed to take out one Trooper in the initial charge and force another behind cover. When he got out from behind the rock, he found the tip of an extended Bo-Rifle staff smashing into his face. Zeb then swung the rifle around to strike a second Stormtrooper in the chest. The blow was hard enough to send the Buckethead flying into the ray shield generator with a metallic thud.

The Stormtroopers started falling back, firing Arc Casters at the Rebels. However, with their enemy now taking up positions around the generator, they were a bit hesitant with their shots. They didn't want to damage their precious equipment after all. Sabine opened fire on them, taking up position near the corner of the generator itself. Her dual blasters were more than enough to cut through the enemy armor and Hera and Zeb joined her, the Stormtroopers pulled back entirely.

"They'll be back with friends soon," Hera warned. "We need to get to work."

Chopper rolled up out of cover and set about the task of hacking into the ray shield generator's systems. The quickest way to destroy this particular model was to get inside its guts. That required them to hack into and open up the power coupling at the back. Once Chopper had plugged in and managed to do just that, Sabine placed a timed charge onto the power source and closed the generator up.

"Best move back," she warned. "We got about twenty seconds."

The Rebels headed into the rocks, just as the Stormtroopers returned with more men. They began firing on the Rebels. Zeb returned the shots in kind, giving them all enough cover to reach relative safety behind the rocks. The Stormtroopers continued to fire at the Rebels behind their new found cover, already taking positions around the generator as they did. A mere five seconds later, it exploded into a ball of fire, taking both them and machine with it. Hera and the others poked their heads up from behind the rocks and faced them towards the outside. The first ray shield was still up, it only fizzled for a slight few seconds before it returned to relative stability.

"I think we'll need to kill at least two more to break the connection completely," Sabine suggested.

"That's going to take a lot of time," Hera informed her.

As she spoke, a high pitched alarm sounded throughout the quarry. It wasn't enough to drown out the monster's roar in the background, but it was still loud enough for every Buckethead nearby to understand. Already, Hera could hear the clamping feet of more Stormtroopers approaching their position.

"There goes the Empire not knowing we're here," Zeb grumbled.

"Move people," Hera ordered. "We have to take down this first ray shield before they can reinforce their positions."

"And what about the second?" Sabine asked, as they jumped from cover and began running through the quarry's caverns.

"Remember what Kanan said," Hera told her. "We're tackling one problem at a time here."

* * *

Kamo heard the explosions along with everyone else. For a moment he thought it was just a stray shot from one of the gunships. Then he saw the Ray Shield flicker slightly, followed by the sound of the alarm. He looked to Arch he seemed a bit confused at it all.

"What does that mean?" He asked.

"Not sure," Kamo said. "I'll check with Devo."

The Jumptrooper wasn't with him, he was leading his squad of Jetpack soldiers as a backup unit in case anything went wrong. And something had gone wrong, because before Kamo could contact him, the Lieutenant's voice came on the radio. He did not sound happy.

"_Sergeant, we got intruders,"_ he stated in a flat angered tone.

"What? We have Rebels in the quarry?" The Clone shouted in astonishment. "Why are they here? What did they do?"

"_We've gotten reports of one group that destroyed a Ray Shield generator," _Devo answered. _"And we've lost contact with one of the trains. It's not shooting gas anymore."_

Kamo couldn't believe what he was hearing. Not only were there Rebels on the planet, not only were they inside the quarry, but they were trying to stop them from killing Alpha Predator One. Why the hell would they want to do that? Were they just crazy enough to think this thing was their friend because the Empire wanted it dead?

"What do we do?" Kamo asked.

"_Nothing,"_ Devo ordered him. _"Stopping the monster is top priority. We take men away from their positions now, the damn thing gets the advantage. Keep pouring on the gas, double time. We gotta make up for what we just lost. I'm going after the group hitting our Ray Shields, I'm sending other Jumptroopers to protect the trains. Don't worry, we'll stop'em."_

The Lieutenant certainly seemed confident. It didn't sound like there were too many Rebels down in the quarry anyway, maybe they could handle them. Although, Kamo had a nagging feeling it was going to be harder than that. He turned to Arch, who seemed a bit disturbed at the news.

"Rebels? Here?" He asked nervously. "I didn't think anyone even knew the Empire was set up here. What do we do?"

"Our job," Kamo told him. "That big lizard still needs killing. We keep pouring this gas on and we'll accomplish just that. We need to finish what we started."

"But we can't just do nothing," Arch noted. "If they're hitting the trains we're going to lose a lot of coverage real fast."

Kamo knew the Private was right. If they wanted to keep the monster bottled up down below, they had to keep hitting him hard. That meant they'd need to get closer, pour more gas directly down his throat. He could see the lizard was circling the edges of the pit now, looking for an opening to scramble up, one that was free of gas. They needed to close that. Kamo turned to the engineer up front.

"Switch tracks up ahead," he ordered. "Take us lower! We gotta make up for what we just lost!"

"That's gonna put us dangerously close to the big ugly reptile," the engineer warned.

"Just do it!" Kamo ordered again loudly

The engineer just nodded and input the new heading into the computer. In a few seconds they were headed onto a new track that would take further down into the quarry. Kamo knew they were taking a risk, that not only would the monster be closer but they could run into the Rebels hitting the trains too. But it was a risk they had to take if they were going to kill Alpha Predator One. And if they did meet these Rebels, Kamo would make sure to put down this little insurrection of theirs. He'd put them down, no matter who they were.

* * *

Godzilla continued to search for a way out, a way to climb from the bowels of the pit and back to the surface. But every wall he searched was coated in a green fog of death. More and more of the gas kept colliding into his face, fired by the human flying machines and tanks that hounded him. His mind could not focus, his senses dulling with each gulp of air. All he could do was hold what little breath he had and try not to suck more of the fumes in. The gas seeped in, however, insidiously entering the gaps in his teeth and nostrils. It began stinging at his eyes like a thousand wasps. His skin felt itchy and pained.

He needed out of this pit, fast.

Godzilla began pounding on the walls of the quarry, smashing his tail and fists into everything. He'd shake this entire open wound in the rock apart if he had to. He'd make a stairway of stone, metal and bodies to pull himself out of here. Cracks formed in some of the lower levels of the pit, some tunnels collapsed or became blocked by the miniature earthquakes. One of the gas-spewing trains crashed into a large rock that had fallen onto the track. It careened off the side of the cliff and down to the quarry floor.

Godzilla seized his moment and rushed towards the edge of the pit where the train had fallen. The humans would probably clear the rubble soon, probably within minutes if they were this desperate to end him. He used what little support he could find to scramble up the steep side of the quarry, intent on reaching the big red shield above. He'd blast it with his ray if he had to at point blank range. He had seen the thing flicker, it was weaker than before. He could destroy it.

Then, a gust of green cloud suddenly hit him from overhead. A new train had arrived quicker than he thought it would, carrying more soldiers with gas. The mist attacked his throat and Godzilla coughed loudly. His grip loosened, his feet struggled and he slipped from the side of the quarry wall. He slid all the way back down to the bottom roaring in anger all the way. When the dust settled from his tremendous crash he staggered back into a standing position.

His body was giving up, but his will would push it on. The King of Monsters would not surrender to these white-clad army men and their dishonorable weapon. If it took destroying every train, tank and flying machine in this pit to escape, then so be it. As another flight of enemy gunships flew in for another attack, Godzilla turned and swiped his mighty tail across the sky. Even with his reflexes dulled, he was still fast enough to catch the dive bombing aircraft. The tail crashed into their sides, destroying four outright and sending a fifth flying towards the quarry wall.

* * *

The gunship collided next to the track and exploded. Fire and metal were sent cascading all across the train car. Kanan pushed Ezra down the shrapnel came for them, Ahsoka ducked behind a crate of the gas canisters loaded onto the train. Some of the Stormtroopers weren't so lucky. One caught on fire as he was close to the gunship's fireball. Two more took large pieces of shrapnel that penetrated their bodies and one other was tossed off the side from the shockwave.

There were still quite a few Stormtroopers around though and they weren't about to give up just because some gunships were falling from the sky. They fired shots back at the Jedi, taking up cover behind canister crates as well and making it harder to deflect the shots back at them. Kanan's attempts just ended up hitting the crates instead as the the Troopers ducked back down after each burst of bolts.

"This is taking too long," Kanan growled.

Not about to be held up by Imperial grunts at this stage, Kanan pulled out his blaster with his other hand. Deflecting the shots with his saber, he fired back his own at the Bucketheads. The added blaster shots, combined with Kanan's quick trigger finger, managed to out shoot two of the Stormtroopers with on shot each through their heads.

"I don't remember that move at the Temple," Ahsoka quipped jovially back at the Padawan turned Master as she blocked more shots.

"Just something I picked up on my own," he explained.

Not to be outdone, Ahsoka flung one of her lightsabers across the length of the flatbed. It curved around to the side and sliced into one of the Stormtroopers firing from behind a stack of crates. The blade then whizzed through the air and back into the Togruta's hand.

"Old school tricks still work," she noted aloud.

There wasn't much time to compare techniques, however. Screaming in from seemingly out of nowhere appeared four Jumptroopers armed with Arc Casters in hand. They didn't waste time in firing on the three Jedi, streams of electricity cascaded all around them. Ahsoka took the brunt of the incoming fire, blocking it with her twin sabers. The arcs of lighting jutted out haphazardly, but at least she was able to deflect them away.

"Could use a little help here, guys!" She called to Kanan and Ezra, straining from the effort at holding the attack back.

Ezra was quick to respond, deactivating his lightsaber and firing it's stun gun mode off instead. The blast hit one of the the Jumptroopers. The flying Buckethead careened towards the floor, slamming face first the train car and then falling off the side. With one less Arc Caster firing away, that gave Kanan an opening. He ran at Ahsoka, putting away his own lightsaber and pulling out his blaster again.

"Keep your legs apart!" He shouted at her from behind.

Ahsoka only looked back for a microsecond in order to understand what he was doing. She distanced her legs apart a bit more and let Kanan, now dropping onto his back mid-run, slide through them. His blaster pointed skyward, he fired shots into two of the Jumptroopers, hitting one in the chest and another in the pack. The ruptured in the pack sent the Trooper careening into a far wall, while the other dropped dead to the floor.

With one Jumptrooper left, Ahsoka found his Arc Caster shots much easier to handle. She kept the stream focused on her saber, moved the blades back slightly and sliced outward with them. The Arc Stream was deflected right back into the Jumptrooper, the beam shocking the Jumptrooper and flinging him into a stone pillar. Ahsoka deactivated her blades and let her arms drop.

"You okay?" Kanan asked her as he stood back up.

"Holding back four streams of pure electricity isn't easy," she admitted, sounding a bit tired. "Just give me a minute to catch my breath."

"I don't think we have a minute," Ezra warned suddenly. "More incoming!"

The two older Jedi looked to where Ezra was now pointing. An Imperial Gunship was headed their way, no doubt loaded with Stormtroopers aboard. They were not about to lose another train it seemed. The gunship opened fire on the train, energy pulses raked the flatbed. The Jedi were forced to hide behind what remained of the chemical launcher just to protect themselves.

"This is getting really tedious now," Growled Kanan. "Let's wait until they're about to unload their men, then we hit them with a Force Push all at once."

"Good idea," Ahsoka concurred. "On my mark."

Ahsoka peeked out past her cover and saw the aircraft turn. Troopers were already getting into position to jump off it and onto the moving train. They'd never make it though. As they got close, the three Jedi threw out a combined Force Push that slammed into the side of the Gunship. The Transport shook violently as Stormtroopers were flung out the opposite side of the open doors. The craft itself was forced away from the train for a few brief moments. It moved back into position and was seemingly preparing to launch a barrage of missiles at them in retaliation.

That was when a large snout jutted up from below and smacked it across the side. The craft lost control and descended to earth in a ball of fire. The face of the monster now took over the view past the caverns roaring loudly as he did. The Jedi stared up at the snarling beast, yellow eyes of anger darting all around as they did. Suddenly, it raised it's gigantic fist and slammed it into the repulsor rails behind them. It smashed it's hand again, and again, each time gaining on the train itself.

"Did he have to try this while we're on it?!" Kanan growled aloud.

"Run for it!" Ahsoka called out.

The trio rushed up the cars, heading towards the engine cab. The engineer had already left it, leaping off the side of the train and rolling around the ground in a ball. The three Jedi piled into the cab, Ezra being the last. The young Jedi took his lightsaber and cut the connection between them and the cars behind while Kanan shifted the engine into high gear. The engine rocketed away from the flatbed cabs, just as the massive fist of the monster smashed into where they had been moments ago.

"Looks like we're making an impact," Ahsoka observed. "We've managed to hit three cars in quick succession and he's already back on the offensive."

"Still wondering if that's a good thing," Kanan told her. "And it's not going to matter if those bombers reach us anyway."

There was another distant explosion. As they rocketed past an open hole in the caverns overlooking the pit, they saw the red Ray Shield flicker again, more visibly this time. Hera had hit another generator and the barrier was now seriously weakened.

"Well we're making progress at least," Ezra optimistically stated. "The first barrier is going to be down soon."

"We still have the second to deal with and a lot more trains to stop," Kanan reminded him.

"Given what we just saw, perhaps if we take out enough we won't have to destroy them all," Ahsoka suggested.

Kanan just shrugged at the suggestion, it wasn't like he could back out of this plan anyway. They were too far along in it. That of course did not mean he was about to sign on for Ahsoka's crazy scheme of talking to the thing. However, if this massive reptile continued to give the Empire trouble regardless, he was just fine with freeing him from this trap.

"Where's the next train?" He asked.

"Further up the quarry," Ahsoka noted as she looked at the console. "It's moving down though, probably to counteract what we're doing."

"Think we can head them off before they get into position?" Kanan asked. "It would give the big guy some breathing room."

"If we hurry through the next series of junctions maybe," Ahsoka told him as she set a course.

The engine soon diverted towards an upward intersection while the distant roars of the monster echoed behind them. He was certainly hurting, even Kanan could tell from the sound of bellowing. He wasn't giving up though, he wasn't laying down and dying, not the Empire. Kanan took solace in that knowledge, recalling his own experiences after Order 66. If nothing else, he could respect the creature for that alone.

* * *

The smoking remains of the Ray Shield generator and it's defenders were strewn about the ground. Hera and her team stood several feet away, hiding in a recently constructed mine shaft, thinking about what would come next. They may have had one Ray Shield on the ropes, but the second one further up was still active. Hera wasn't sure they could get up there and destroy three more like they did down here, not with this method.

Zeb kept watch over one end of the tunnel, his Bo-Rifle down the corridor. The next Generator wasn't too far from their current position, but Hera didn't want to wait to come up with a plan. She pulled Sabine and Chopper aside to discuss the situation, trusting Zeb to cover them in case the Stormtroopers spotted them.

"Nothing yet," he told them. "Not sure why they're not coming to investigate. Can't mean anything good."

"They know we're coming for the next generator," Hera suggested. "They won't risk taking people away to find out what they already know. They'll wait for us to strike before ambushing us."

"Great, so matter what we decide, we're the ones walking into a trap now," Sabine noted. "How are we going to destroy three more generators up top with all this going on?"

Hera didn't think they could. If they could bring the _Ghost_ in, they could probably just hunt down and shoot the generators. Problem was, you couldn't get the _Ghost_ into this place while the second Ray Shield was active. So that made the obvious solution redundant.

"Is there any way we could just turn them off?" Hera asked, rubbing the side of her head.

"In theory, on these models you could find their frequency and scramble it," Sabine offered. "The individual generators can't transmit to each other after that. This forces a hard reset to clear the system. But it's not going to solve the problem. The shield is only going to be shut down for less than a minute. By then, Empire will have activated manual override and have the whole network switched back on. Once they figure out what caused it, they'll just switch frequency wavelengths for the network. That monster isn't going to climb out in sixty seconds or less."

No it wouldn't, only destroying enough Generators would kill the shield for good. However, sixty seconds was more than enough time for a ship or two to get inside the quarry and attack the generators themselves. Problem was, there was no way Hera could get out of here and back to the _Ghost _in time to set that up. Luckily for them, they had other options as she soon remembered.

"Wait, Moira's Raiders are still tracking those bombers," she reminded Sabine. "They're on their way here now."

"Hey, yeah," Sabine replied, realizing what the twi'lek was saying. "We could give them an opening to get inside and have them finish off the generators for us! They'd be able to do it much faster than we could."

Hera nodded at the very thought, it could work. However, she suspected there would be hurdles. The Empire wouldn't make it that easy to mess around with their equipment.

"What would we need to pull this off though?" She asked Sabine thoughtfully.

"A transmitter for one," the Mandalorian explosives expert informed her. "That and Chopper we need to steal the frequency codes from the Generator Network. We could have him hack in through the next one we hit."

"That's going to take a lot of time to pull off," Zeb warned. "We'll have to wait a bit before we blow the generator up for it to work."

"It's a risk we'll have to take," Hera told him, standing up and pulling out her blaster. "Come on, let's move."

They left the mine shaft and made their way towards the next generator. It didn't take them long before laser bolts started flying at them again. The team dropped behind a mineral container, as the Stormtroopers kept pouring on the fire upon their position. Behind the troopers was the Generator, so close yet still out of their reach. Zeb jumped up to fire a few shots of his own back at the Imperials, managing to shoot one in the face. However he quickly dropped back down as more laser bolts started hitting their position.

"They've probably already called their friends to attack us from behind," he warned Hera. "We need to take that generator fast."

"We'll split their focus a bit," Hera decided. "I'll go left, Sabine will go right, Zeb, you stay here and draw their fire and Chop, you flank them. No one suspects the droid."

Chopper worbbled sinisterly at the comment and started rolling off towards the right side of the cavern. He was followed by Sabine who vaulted over the container, firing all the way. Her shots managed to force the Stormtroopers down long enough for her to roll into safety behind a large rock. As the Stormtroopers opened fire on Sabine's position, Zeb lurched up from behind the container to open fire again. Drawing some of their focus back to him. Hera in the meantime had already slinked off the left and into the cover of a stone pillar along the edge of the quarry pit. With the Bucketheads still distracted by Zeb, she opened fire on them. One of the Imperials went down after several shots hit his torso.

Split between three separate firing positions, the Stormtroopers did not see Chopper sneak in from their left flank. It wasn't until one of his electrical stun blasts hit one of the Troopers taking shots at Sabine that they realized he was among them. The appearance of the droid unnerved the Stormtroopers and they moved redirected their fire towards him. Chopper quickly bolted behind the generator before any of the shots could hit him. The momentary distraction, however, gave the others the opening they needed.

Zeb fired several shots from his bo-rifle as he charged forward, hitting two Troopers as he closed in. He then extended the staff and swung out towards one of the Troopers, hitting him in the face. Sabine also ran forward, firing her dual blasters at the Stormtroopers once more as they went after Chopper. Her shots managed to kill two. She then leapt over their cover and fired into the Bucketheads as she kicked the last last one in the chest. Hera on her side, nimbly moved in, shooting one of the Troopers as they aimed for Zeb. She then body checked the other Stormtrooper into the Generator itself head first.

The Generator was now theirs and Chopper was already hard at work splicing into its network. Everyone quickly moved to keep the droid covered, knowing that the Empire would be after him specifically now. They moved the barriers the Stormtroopers had hid behind to protect Chopper, expecting reinforcements to arrive soon from the ground. Instead, they heard the approaching roar of jet packs.

Jumptroopers raced in from down the corridor and from outside. Armed with Arc Casters, the flying Stormtroopers fired electrical streams down at the Rebels. Hera and the others dropped to ground as the streams struck all around them.

"We need to keep them away from Chopper," she shouted. "Spread out!"

Zeb and Sabine nodded, taking off once more in separate directions. The Arc Caster streams chased after them as they ran. Sabine strafed the area, her shots slamming into one of the Jumptroopers as she ran. The squad leader motioned his men to drop to the ground to avoid further casualties. They turned off their packs and landed on the ground, where they continued their assault.

Blasts of electricity slashed at the rock Zeb was now using as cover. Zeb fired back but the Jumptrooper used his back to quickly rocket himself over to a container for better cover. Even when they weren't flying, these Bucketheads weren't easy prey. He moved forward this time, firing as he went. Blaster bolts kept the Jumptrooper pinned behind cover. When Zeb got closer, however, the Trooper rocketed out of his position. Zeb only just narrowly avoided being run down by the speeding Imperial, rolling back onto the ground. For a brief second he had a good shot on the Trooper's pack. The shots managed to puncture the pack and caused it to explode, taking the Jumptrooper with it.

Hera had a more difficult problem with two of the Jumptroopers pinning her down. They used their packs to jump in a creeping fashion towards her. They were trying to do what her team was, splitting their focus. She would show them why it wasn't wise to try and copy someone else's strategy though. She stopped firing for a moment and looked to her surroundings. She was currently behind a crate container mining equipment but there was a stone pillar overlooking the pit just a few feet away. Getting to her feet, she ran towards it and slid behind it just as an Arc Caster shot fired close to her, slicing at the ground.

She knew she could still be flanked, the Jumptroopers weren't going to be stopped by the open pit. However, she'd be able to hear him coming when he closed in. She fired two bursts at one of the Jumptroopers, forcing him to delay his next move forward. As she fired on him, Hera heard his friend rocketing out into the open air of the quarry. She kept pretending to be duped, kept letting the Imperial think he had the jump on her. As the rockets drew nearer though, she got ready. Suddenly she turned and saw the Jumptrooper flying in for the kill. He fired his Arc Caster first, but Hera able to drop low. She turned her blaster on the Jumptrooper and fired several bursts into him. The shots cut the Imperial down, sending him falling into the quarry, where the Monster was currently battering his tail against the stone wall.

Hera turned back to her other problem, the remaining Jumptrooper who was now charging forward, Arc caster constantly shooting. Still in her prone position, Hera crawled out of the destructive beam's constant assault on her position. She wasn't sure if the Trooper knew she wasn't behind the pillar anymore, but she knew he'd figure out where she had gone to eventually. Hiding behind a mineral container now, Hera kept low as the Jumptrooper started scanning for her. As she lay on the ground, she saw the container was on a deactivated repulsorlift cart. An idea quickly formed in her head. She quickly started pressing buttons on the control panel, stating the cart back up. As it lifted off the ground, it caught the attention of the Jumptrooper but it was already too late.

Hera kicked the cart with both her feet towards the Jumptrooper. The large container sped towards the Trooper who jumped on top of it with his pack. He took aim at Hera with his Arc Caster as the cat kept moving, only for his aim to be disrupted when it slammed into a rock just behind them. The crash caused the Jumptrooper to fall to the floor, as mineral rocks fell everywhere. As he stood up among the smoke to attack again, Hera unleashed a full burst into the Imperial, taking him down for good.

Sabine continued to preoccupy the Jumptroopers on her end of the cavern, slowly moving back towards Chopper who was continuing to slice the Generator's network. Her blasters kept firing back at the encroaching Jumptroopers, rocketing across the ground from cover to cover. As an Arc Caster raced past her head, nearly scorching her helmet, the young Mandalorian ducked behind mining equipment crate.

"Alright, enough of the kid gloves then," she declared.

She pulled out one of her specialized grenades. She then rolled it across the ground towards the Jumptroopers, where it exploded in a bright blast of orange and crimson. She then flipped down her optic scanner, revealing thermal outlines of the Jumptroopers within the smoke. She fired several shots, taking one of them out. She then retreated back towards Chopper, as more Arc Caster blasts from the remaining Jumptroopers. She dropped onto her side beside the droid, who beeped at her triumphantly.

"Chop says he's got the frequency!" Sabine shouted in delight.

"Then it's time to leave!" Hera shouted back from her own cover. "Plant the charge and let's get out of here!"

Chopper quickly opened the power source hatch and Sabine dropped one of her time charges into it. With that, the Rebels pulled away from the Generator, retreating further into the caverns of the quarry. Hera suspected the Jumptoopers to chase after her, but they pulled back instead. Their leader must've realized it would be a bad idea to get near something that was more than likely about to explode any second. Which it did in a giant fireball that erupted across the cavern. The Rebels ducked behind a rock just as the final seconds ticked down, avoiding the shockwave and explosion altogether. When the dust and smoke had cleared, Hera looked outside the nearest opening towards the quarry. The first Ray Shield layer flickered for a bit and then disappeared altogether. They had done it, but their job was still only half finished.

"We need to get to a transmitter," Hera told them. "Then we call Moira and tell her our plan."

"There's probably a communications station nearby," Sabine told her. "I'll try to lock onto its signal through the Imperial Channels, guide us in."

"Right now, let's get out of here before those Jumptroopers come back," Zeb requested.

The team headed off again, moving into the dark of the quarry caverns. Hera hoped they find a transmitter soon and that Moira would be up to the task. They were halfway done, they couldn't trip up now.

* * *

Kamo looked to see the first Ray Shield fail above them. As he grimaced, he stared down at Alpha Predator One, currently smashing his tail along a repulsor rail below them. A large explosion revealed the destruction of yet another train. The pit may have been covered in toxic smoke, but the lizard was regaining ground regardless. There wasn't enough gas being pumped into his system.

"At least we've only lost one of the Ray Shields," Arch noted aloud. "He still can't get out. Besides, the bombers are on their way. Those Rebels are just saving us the trouble of turning the switch off."

"Yeah, but the different layers were supposed to act like an airlock of sorts," Kamo reminded him. "To keep as much radiation out of the quarry, drain him of power. We lower one, power it back on when the bombers come through, then do the same with the next layer. Now he's going to get a boost of radiation from the atmosphere when we drop it."

That bit of news made Arch growl slightly.

"We can still kill him right?" He asked. "The bombers will finish him off so long as he's stuck down there with all the gas."

"Yeah, but now we gotta work harder to keep him pumped full of the stuff," Kamo told him. "That, and hope Devo can stop those Rebels from destroying the second layer."

The track suddenly shook violently, knocking Kamo and Arch over onto the backs. Scrambling to their feet through the pounding, they both looked over the side to see the monster pounding on the wall with his tail. Whether he was trying to cause an avalanche to try and get out or just destroy more trains didn't matter, Kamo wasn't about to let this lizard get the best of him.

He rushed over to one of the crates holding the gas canisters and pulled the top off it. he grabbed one of the larger containers and lugged it towards the side of the still speeding train. Arch and the other Troopers looked puzzled.

"What are you doing?" The Private asked.

"The chem throwers aren't enough," the Clone informed him. "We want to hurt him now, we got to hit him with the whole pack at once!"

Kamo threw the canister, now a makeshift bomb, down on top of the monster's head. It smashed down right near the beast's eyes. The canister shattered, releasing its toxic cargo, the monster stopped smashing his tail into the wall and stumbled away, coughing and screeching in pain, scratching at his eyes like mad. It wasn't long before the other Stormtroopers followed their Sergeant's example. They tore open the assorted crates, grabbed the canisters inside and began throwing them over the side. For once, the reptile's massive size proved to be a disadvantage as few canisters missed the creature's girth. They broke open across the monster's back, on his head or shoulders, but a precious few hit the lizard on the nose.

In all, Alpha Predator One would inhale over a dozen full canisters on the nose. The rest were just as potent, the gas now encircling the creature's head. The beast ran from the toxic cloud, screaming in pain as he did. All the while, the Stormtroopers above cheered in victory. All save Kamo, who just looked on at the pained monster sternly.

"Think that will be enough?" Arch asked tepidly.

"Doubtful," Kamo replied. "We still need a lot more gas and we're running out."

"Well that's what the bombers are for," Arch noted.

"We need a plan B in case the bombers aren't enough," Kamo explained.

The Clone's mind was already racing, thinking up a new strategy in his head. He thought back to his training, how they taught him to be relentless against the enemy. To use every resource against him in order to destroy him. That you never give up until they're dead and buried. And most importantly, they told him when things go wrong, you improvise.

"We need to have the remaining gunships gather up what's left of the gas canisters from the remaining trains," he reasoned. "Then they can drop them and their own payloads on top of the monster. That should deliver enough gas to finish him if the bombers fail. Get Devo on the horn."

"Sure thing," Arch concurred.

The Private was about to get on the comm-link, when Devo's voice came through the radio first.

"_Sarge, Arch, I'm tracking one group of Rebels through the caverns,"_ he began _"They're up to something, not sure what. I can handle them, but my another of my squads just reported in. Their friends are hitting another of the trains right now. Something is weird about their reports, they could use some help. Can you intercept?"_

Kamo responded quickly.

"We'll try to make it," he told him. "While I got you, I have a new plan. It might be only shot we got at killing the monster now."

* * *

The door's lock blew apart, smoke billowed out of the now open entrance. Sabine rolled through the smoke and opened fire on the surprised Stormtroopers at the controls with her dual blasters. The Imperials dropped to the floor, one after the other, as the other Rebels rushed into the room. Hera took up the controls with Sabine, while Zeb took watch on the door. Chop quickly sliced into the communications system.

"Alright," Hera said. "Let's contact Moira. Hopefully she's taken care of those bombers by now."

Sabine patched into the Raiders' communication channel and zeroed in on their frequency.

"Spectre Five to Raider Lead," Sabine spoke into the comm. "Come in, Raider Lead, what's your status?"

"_Hey fellow rebel rousers, how's the mining business?"_ Moira's voice replied back.

"Going pretty good," Hera answered back. "What's the status of the bombers?"

* * *

Another blazing bolt of green sliced through the air, cutting into Moira's wing. She turned sharply into a roll, letting the bomber pass before she rolled back up behind him. She fired a burst of bolts that ripped through the craft, causing it to explode in a fireball of red mixed with green.

"Doing our best," she told Hera. "There are swarms of the Imps though. We've cut through several of their squadrons, but Jetty is detecting other wings coming in. Backup most likely, their buddies must've radioed their Command Ship. We can take out the rest of these guys, but their friends will complete the mission if they fail. Empire isn't taking any chances with this big lizard it seems. You almost got him clear?"

"_Not quite,"_ Hera regretfully told her. _"We're going to need that air support sooner than we thought. We've found a way to lower their Ray Shield for a short time, long enough for you to get inside. You can locate and destroy the Generators faster than we can at this point."_

Another set of laser bolts cut across Moira's nose as another Bomber escort tried to take her out. Moira pulled up on the stick, avoiding the shots while getting onto the TIE's tail from below. As she followed him up into the clouds, she let loose with her guns and blew the little craft to bits.

"Yeah, probably could," Moira said as she flew to avoid the falling debris. "How many do we need to hit?"

"_Three, that's how many we took out,"_ Hera explained.

"Easy," Moira confidently replied. "Stay on the horn, I'll let you know when I'm in position with the team. Drop the shields then and I can guarantee you they'll be down for good soon enough."

"_We'll be in touch,"_ Hera assured, the transmission ending soon after.

Moira contacted Jetty now and the old battledroid soon responded.

"Yes ma'am?" He asked.

"Going to need you to find us a new target, Jetty," he told him. "See if you can isolate the output frequency those Imperial Ray Shields are using."

"Roger, Roger," Jetty replied, Moira imagining him doing his 'thumbs-up' tick as he spoke.

If Moira was being honest with herself, it did seem like these Rebels were asking a lot of her lately. Ultimately though she didn't mind. She could probably bargain extra fees with Ahsoka after this. Besides, the whole idea sounded really fun to her anyway.

"Let's mop up these Imps, boys," she told her wingmen. "We got us a new target."

* * *

They had eventually caught up to the train, but this time the Jumptroopers were quicker to show up. So now, Kanan, Ezra and Ahsoka had to deal with both the regular grunts and their more elite counterparts. Arc Caster shots and laser bolts were constantly being held back or deflected by the Force Users, the Imperials barely giving them an inch to advance. They had overcome the shock of Jedi attacking them at this point and the Jumptroopers were doing their best to direct the defense of the train. That didn't mean the trio wasn't holding their own, as a few of their deflected shots did manage to take down some of the Stormtroopers. However, the Jumptroopers were quick to move up and take their place.

Finally, they were all forced to take cover behind one of the canister crates as the fire became more focused.

"It was so much easier when we just had to worry about mindless droids," Ahsoka grunted as she huddled with her fellow Force Users.

"At least they're too bust shooting us to be spraying gas," Ezra said, trying, and failing, to sound optimistic. "I think we need a new plan."

"I got one," Kanan suddenly told them.

Ahsoka and Ezra noticed the Jedi was looking up at the ceiling that was speeding by. Overhead were a number of large rocks embedded in the ceiling as well as small stalactites left behind when the caverns were first carved out in the quarry. Both Ahsoka and Ezra instantly understood Kanan's plan. Ahsoka tossed her lightsaber into the air, alongside Kanan. Their blades cut into the ceiling above and large chunks of stone fell from on high on top of the Stormtroopers on the flatbed. Ezra wasn't nearly that good with a lightsaber, but he was still good with the Force. He felt out with his senses, felt the rocks tumbling down through the air, reached out and pushed them with an invisible hand. The falling stone that looked like it would miss a Trooper, ended up side-lining him instead.

The Jumptroopers weren't completely helpless of course, as they managed to fly out of the way of the falling debris pretty quickly. Their packs gave them more than enough speed to stay ahead of the collapsing rocks. Regardless, the Jedi had managed to push the Imperials back a bit. They moved out of cover again, rushing forward along the flatbed. Some of the slower Troopers were cut down as they charged forward, they weren't lucky enough to get any of the Jumptroopers, but any thinning of the herd was welcome at this point.

Ahsoka's blade sliced down one Stormtrooper as he fired wildly at her. Her dual sabers were more than enough to block every shot until she was close enough to slash across his chest. Ezra continued to used his blade to deflect shots, managing to knock a bolt right back towards its shooter near the back of the train. It only wounded him, but it took him out of the fight so that was good enough. Kanan blocked an Arc Caster beam before using the Force to send the Jumptrooper firing it flying off the side of the train. They were now on the second flatbed, closing in on the engine car.

"Keep moving," Ahsoka called out. "We almost-"

The Togruta's call was cut short by an explosion that rocked the side of the cavern. The Jedi turned to see a second train, racing along an adjacent repulsor rail towards them. There were Stormtroopers crawling all over it, unexpected reinforcements. Before long they were caught in the massive crossfire between what was left of the Stormtroopers on their train and this new train. Once more on the defensive, the Jedi ran for the cover a nearby crate. Kanan turned back briefly, however, using the Force to push three of the Stormtroopers on the other train clear off the side. He then ducked behind the crate with the others.

"Well this just got a whole lot worse," Ezra grumbled.

"We're outmatched on this one," Ahsoka told them. "I think we should use the crate, send it flying at the Reinforcements. The gas won't harm them, but it will give us a chance to cut the rear car free and coast away."

"May be our only chance," Kanan concurred. "Let's aim for the center of the car."

Kanan looked over cover briefly, trying to gauge their target in advance. As he did, he saw the flatbed of the opposing train filled with enemy soldiers still relentlessly firing at them. All except one, right near the center of the cars. He was a Stormtrooper, with blue markings covering his helmet. He was just standing there, looking on, not firing a shot, frozen. Kanan would've been confused, if not two seconds later after spotting him did he see the other Trooper ceasefire as well. Along with a shadow that creeped over the entire cavern itself.

Kanan turned to see the menacing face of the giant lizard monster bearing down on them. Suddenly, his mouth opened and he plunged his face into the track ahead of him. Both trains suddenly jolted to a violent stop as their engine cars disappeared. Several of the passengers were thrown either off the train entirely, or dropped to the floor. The Jedi only managed to not go flying because they were already clutching onto the crate that was magnetized to the metal flatbed for stability purposes. The monster's jaws then wrenched both trains off the tracks, pulling them into the pit.

"Why does the creature we're attempting to save keep trying to kill us?" Kanan shouted in anger as their train was pulled into the air.

"Come on! Run!" Ahsoka told both him and Ezra. "Move!"

Both master and apprentice wanted to ask, 'where to?', but neither had the time to voice it. They followed Commander Tano's lead, running along the now bending and cracking flatbed. Stormtroopers screamed as they fell of the twisting cars to the pit below, or scrambled to the safety of solid ground while they were still close enough to it. Suddenly, the train was pulled entirely off the track and the three Jedi began sliding down the now falling train car. It would've been the end for them, if they did not see another cavern opening just below their own.

"Jump!" Ahsoka shouted at the two as they neared the edge of the now destroyed and tumbling train car.

The Jedi pushed themselves off the car, with all their might. With the amplified power of the Force, rushing through them, they flew through the air with relative ease. Even as rock and debris fell all around them from above. Their haphazard leap didn't offer them the chance for a graceful landing, as they slammed into the ground and rolled into a heap. With aching joints from their tumble, they looked back at the monster. They saw what was left of the train dangling from the reptile's mouth, the engine cars of both trains trapped in the beast's teeth. He shook the train's remains about in anger before finally releasing them, sending both derailed trains spiraling into the quarry wall.

"You know," Kanan growled, panting as he spoke. "If we do end up talking to that thing, it better be really grateful for all the trouble we went through to save it."

"We better get moving," Ahsoka said, standing up and crushing the dirt off her. "The Imperials probably think we're dead for the moment. We should use that to our advantage. The Empire has lost quite a few trains between this and our big friend."

"You think they have a backup plan?" Ezra asked.

"I would," Kanan answered for Ahsoka. "Better not give them the chance to implement it."

The Jedi made their way through the caverns, the giant lizard's screeching roar echoing in the background as they did.

* * *

The darkness slowly faded around Kamo as his senses returned. When the monster had abruptly stopped their train, he, Arch and a number of other Troopers were thrown off it. That was at least what he imagined had happened after he had hit the wall and blacked out. Picking himself up out of the dirt, Kamo looked over to the ruined tracks, then to his fallen comrades. Most weren't seriously injured, thankfully. Of course, they couldn't say that about everyone. Everyone who hadn't been lucky enough to get thrown from the train or manage to jump off it was nowhere to be seen.

That included the three Rebels, the ones who... Kamo quickly shook his head. No, he had been imagining things. He had to have been. You could get a lightsaber off the black market, easy. There had been reports of tons of dissidents who did just that. It couldn't have been Jedi, impossible. Then again, how did those Stormtroopers get thrown from the train? The ones before the giant lizard had attacked?

He shook his head again, wildly this time. They couldn't have been Jedi, it was impossible. There was no way. No, it was a trick, that was all. Some kind of trick, either of the mind or something else. It had to be. In any case, they were dead now. The monster they had been trying to save had pulled them out to their own deaths. He couldn't see them anywhere among the survivors, no trace at all. They were dead. If they were real Jedi, they'd have survived. Yes, they had be dead. They weren't real Jedi. It was a trick, there was no other explanation.

Before he could ponder further though, Arch started shaking his shoulder.

"Sarge," he began. "Devo tracked the Rebels down. He's closing on them now. Think we should help him out?"

Why not? It wasn't like they could do much more here. Their train was gone after all. They just had to hope now that their plan B was already in effect.

* * *

They waited by the transmitter for several agonizing minutes. Waiting for Moira's call to come back. Every second they stood here was another second they could be found. Hera didn't want to waste time trying to find another transmitter though. They needed it if they were going to scramble the signal for the second Ray Shield long enough. Sabine at least used the time to get everything ready to go, jury rigging the transmitter with the help of Chopper to tap into the network and send the scrambling frequency.

"Alright," she said sticking her head back up from below the mess of wires beneath the gutted transmission terminal. "Everything is ready. We just need to hit the switch and the scrambling signal will go out to the Generators. We're good to go when she says so."

"Good," Hera told her. "Cover the door with Zeb, me and Chopper will activate the transmitter when-"

Something suddenly knocked against the side of the doorway and rolled inside, a grenade. Zeb rushed away from the door and jumped behind a computer console just as a small explosion erupted close to where he had been standing. Instantly, Hera and Sabine joined him in his cover. Hera held her hand up to Chopper, telling him to stay by the transmitter.

"Did you see who threw the bomb?" Sabine asked Zeb.

"It came out of nowhere," the Lasat answered. "I'm lucky I still have both of my legs."

The console was suddenly hit by a massive surge of electricity, shooting out from the smoking doorway. Stepping out of the cloud appeared a Jumptrooper with an Arc Caster. He fired another blast at the console, raking electricity across the dashboard. The Rebels ducked down low as the beam cascaded across their position. As the stream passed over her, Hera lurched up and took aim at the Trooper, firing one clean shot at him. The blast didn't hit the Jumptrooper though, it hit his Caster instead. As the weapon started to spark violently, the Jumptrooper tossed it away and moved behind an adjacent computer console. He brought out a regular blaster rifle instead and started trading bolts with the Rebels.

"We need to hold him back until Moira is in position," Hera ordered.

Sabine fired her dual blasters at the Jumptrooper's position, but the Buckethead pulled back deeper into cover. He fired a blaze of bolts in response, hitting Sabine in the shoulder pad. She ducked back down, inspecting the damage.

"Ugh, and I just repainted this armor," she growled, clutching at her arm.

"If I could get close to him I could take him down in five seconds," Zeb grumbled.

Sabine pulled out another of her paint smoke bombs at that declaration, lobbing it slightly into the air.

"Let's test that theory of yours then," she told him.

She activated the paint bomb and tossed it over the console. It landed just a few inches away from the Jumptrooper. When it exploded, a plume of bright bluish green paint mist filled the air. Zeb bolted over the console, activating his Bo-Rifle's staff function. As he charged through the bright blue green paint cloud, his staff held high, he spotted the Jumptrooper trying to wave his way through the paint. Zeb brought his staff down on the Jumptrooper's head, than kicked his knee to break his stance. Finally, he swung the staff into the Imperial's chest and slammed him into the back of the wall. The Jumptrooper's blaster fell to the floor, but he kept fighting. He lunged at Zeb and grabbed onto the Bo-Rifle. The two warriors pulled and tugged at one another, trying to push the other over.

As the fight continued, Hera's comm-link suddenly came to life.

"_Hey, we're in position up here,"_ Moira called down. _"You ready with that opening?"_

"Chopper, now!" Hera called back to the droid.

The old clunky machine chirped back at Hera, popped out one of the robotic arms in his head and slammed it down on the activation button. A loud, lengthy siren sound filled the room as sparks surged from the transmitter. Zeb used the sudden noise to his advantage, grabbing at the Jumptrooper's leg with his prehensile feet. He tripped the Imperial onto his back and then punched him square in the face, knocking him out.

"That was more than five seconds by the way," Sabine commented.

Zeb just huffed, but Hera quickly brought their attention onto other more important matters.

"We gotta move, come on!" She shouted at the both as she ran past them towards the exit, Chopper right behind her.

The other Rebels followed the Twi'lek, while she called Moira back.

"Raider Lead, did it work?" She asked.

* * *

Moira grinned as the Ray Shield suddenly failed, leaving the pit open to the wide blue yonder once again. She was already pulled her starfighter into a dive when Hera contacted her.

"Like a charm," she declared. "Get to cover, Rebels, we're about to light this quarry up like it's an Alderaanian Fireworks Display!"

Moira and her squad used their boosters to increase the speed of their dive. They could see the lumbering monster below them getting bigger as they closed in. They also saw the floor of the quarry was filling up with the toxic gas. The poor dumb brute was going to suffocate in there if they didn't break him out soon. While Moira was still a bit sceptical about the whole 'Getting the Big Rampaging Monster on Our Side' plan as much as anyone else, she didn't mind setting him free. Anyone or thing that caused this much trouble for the Empire to the point they got this desperate to kill it was okay in her book.

"_Hey, Gorossk,"_ Ro laughed through the chatter. _"Notice any family resemblance?"_

The Trandoshan pilot hissed back through the comm.

"_You were just waiting to use that one, weren't you?"_ He asked angrily.

"Focus on getting into the quarry people," Moira ordered. "Once we're in, we can't get out until the shield is down."

Moira and her squadron did manage to blaze through the skies and enter the quarry, just seconds before the Ray Shield came back up. Moira pumped her fist at the success, but quickly turned her attention to the real task.

"Alright, Jetty uploaded the specs of those generators to my computer," she told the squad. "Transferring them to you now. Hunt them down, blow'em apart. And keep away from the big grey mutant Krayt Dragon. We may be here to help him, but he don't know that."

The squadron split into pairs, Anglyph and Ro heading one way while Moira and Gorossk went the other. They circled the top of the quarry, the giant lizard still stomping around the pit below them and roaring. Moira tracked one of the Ray Shield Generator's to an open cliff. The Stormtroopers positioned there were quick to start opening fire. Their portable turret raked across the skies, forcing both incoming ARCs to pull away on the first run.

"Draw their fire and take out those turrets," Moira ordered Gorossk. "I'm going to try again."

Gorossk roared in from the right, firing laser blasts on the turret positions. The attack caused one turret to explode, killing its crew, while the others turned to fire on the incoming Trando. Moira then swooped in from the left, a clear path to the generator open to her. She let loose with a furious burst of laser fire, the bolts quickly burning through the heavy armor. Moments later, the generator exploded and Moira peeled off from her attack run before she crashed into the quarry wall.

"One down," Moira reported. "Ro, Anglyh, what's your status?"

"_We got a lock on one in an open cavern," _Ro reported. _"Anglyph is angling for a drop."_

Moira scanned the horizon, looking for her squadron mates. She spotted Anglyph's bomber on a bombing run towards the cavern in question. He dropped two proton bombs square into the opening and peeled off. A plume of fire ejected out of the cavern and the Ray Shield faded slightly yet again.

"Two down," Moira declared. "We got one more and the shield is offline. Anyone got a target?"

"_I do,"_ Gorossk informed her. _"My two o'clock."_

Moira looked to Gorossk and then to his two o'clock. There were two large repulsor tanks flanking the generator, significantly more dangerous than your average turret. It would figure Gorossk would pick the hardest target. She would've suggested another target, but Gorossk was already heading in for an attack run. Moira did her best to follow, watching as the tanks fired at them on their approach. Gorossk pivoted and rolled, dodging most of the fire. His shields absorbed the ones that he didn't dodge, but he was still taking a pounding.

Finally, the Trandoshan must've gotten a lock on one of the tanks. He fired a missile, which slammed right into the main turret and blew it clean off. He fired another missile at the second tank, hitting it in the side. A large blast of flame ripped through the tank, easily turning it into smoking scrap.

With Moira's way clear, she rolled her Arc into a attack path and fired several bursts into the generator. The bolts tore through the machine and soon caused it to explode. The Ray Shield above them soon vanished away, the sky once more open to all. It looked like it was all on the giant lizard to find his way out now, but Moira started thinking that something was wrong. Weren't there supposed to be a bunch of Imperial Gunships flying around? She hadn't seen any transports move to at least try to intercept them. She started looking down, searching for the transports.

She spotted one landing on a large strip of open land on one of the higher levels of the quarry. From what little she could make it out, it looked like they were loading something onto the gunships. On closer examination, they looked like crates. Yeah, that wasn't good. She radioed Ahsoka.

"Hey, Fulcrum," she began tepidly. "Imps are up to something. They're loading a bunch of stuff onto those transports. Not sure what it is, but it's probably meant for our big friend down there. Can you get a visual?"

* * *

"We see it, Raider Lead," Ahsoka assured her. "Stay on station, we may need you."

Ahsoka and her fellow Force Users had made their way out of the deeper caverns and to one the many staging areas. The monster had destroyed most of them when he waded into the pit, but there were still a few near the top of the quarry where supplies, men and vehicles were stored. They hid behind a small building where they watched as Imperial Gunships were loaded up with crates. It didn't take them long to figure out what was inside.

"That's where they're keeping their gas canisters," Ezra observed.

"Of course," Kanan was quick to reason. "The bombers haven't shown up, so they're going to just toss whatever they have left at the monster and hope it kills him. And with how much gas he's absorbed already, it could be enough."

"Then we have to stop those transports," Ahsoka declared. "We all need a ride out of here anyway. We'll take out as many as we can, zero in on Hera's position and pick up her team. Then we'll fly out of here and hope the big lizard finds a way to follow."

"We've done pretty much all the work for him," Kanan noted with a huff. "Would be pretty lame if he couldn't figure something out at this point."

The Jedi moved in quickly, running towards the gunship. One of the Stormtroopers noticed their approach and turned to fire. Kanan and Ezra used their respective blaster and stun gun to take out the Imperials as they charged. The transport started to take off, a Stormtrooper inside taking up a gatling laser attached to the side and unleashing it on the Jedi below him. Ahsoka used her lightsaber to deflect the shots and then used Force Push to send the gunner flying out of the craft. Ahsoka then leapt up into the fleeing transport and turned to the pilot's seat. She cut down the co-pilot when he went for his gun and then grabbed the pilot around his neck.

"You're in my seat," she told him menacingly.

With her free hand, she pressed down on the cockpit release control. She then tossed the Stormtrooper out and sat down in the pilot's seat. Ahsoka then moved the gunship into position for Ezra and Kanan to jump on. The Master and Apprentice then shoved the cargo of gas canisters out the side of the craft and down onto the remaining Stormtroopers on the landing pad below.

"Going after the other transports now," Ahsoka told them both from the pilot's chair. "Take up whatever weapons are back there and help me knock them down."

The commandeered transport flew after the convoy of makeshift bombers, chasing the other Gunships as they moved in on the monster. Ahsoka opened up the forward laser guns on the aircraft, blasting away until the whole flying machine suddenly went up in flames. As it tumbled out of sight, Kanan and Ezra took up the side gatling lasers mounted near the sides and raked fire on the gunships. Their main targets were the crates of gas loaded into the ships, filling them full of holes and detonating the canisters within. As gas leaked out, Kanan trailed his shots towards the cockpit and engines, as did Ezra. Their sustained fire managed to set the gunships ablaze along with the gas.

The Stormtroopers soon fired back, but the Jedi had the jump on them and with Ahsoka at the controls they never stayed a stationary target for long. Troopers who didn't blow up with their gunships were killed outright when the laserbolts raked the insides of their transports. That is, if Ahsoka's skills as a pilot didn't end up destroying quite a few of the gunships herself. Missiles were more than sufficient to take out any one of their number, blowing apart their back sides and setting the entire craft aflame.

However, even as they pushed through the gunships, they were still enough to escape their pursuit. They closed in on the monster below and the Troopers inside them began to roll the crates out of their craft. Crates began falling towards the beast from on high, makeshift bombs intent on choking the animal to death.

Then, from out of nowhere, laser fire hit the crates and blew them out of midair. Moira's Raiders raced into view, firing missiles into the gunships as they tried to break away. Moira's timing was near perfect, barely any of the crates hit their intended target. However, that didn't mean they were safe, as a giant tail started to lurch up into the air.

"Ahsoka!" Kanan called out nervously. "Turn!"

"What do you think I'm doing?" The Togruta shouted back.

The gunship and the Raiders turned violently, barely missing the tail swing. Although it wasn't really aimed at them anyway, the tail was attacking the bulk of the remaining gunships. So there was an element of luck to their escape as well.

"Contact Hera, pick our people up and let's get out of here," Kanan ordered as he jumped into the co-pilot's seat, removing the body of the Stormtrooper that was still there to do so.

Ahsoka nodded, but as she was about to contact the other Rebels, there was a rumbling thunderclap overhead. They turned their gaze skyward and saw dark clouds rolling in.

* * *

Kamo and Arch found Devo in a heap, lying in a communications room. The transmitter looked tampered with, a mess of wires and sparking motherboards evidence enough of that. Kamo didn't really bother to figure out what it had been for, it didn't matter now. The Ray Shields were down and the bombers still hadn't arrived. If they didn't get here soon, this plan was going to fail.

Right now, he just cared about getting the Lieutenant on his feet again. He was covered in wet bluish green paint, staining his once pristine armor. One couldn't tell if he was more mad at that or the fact he had been beat.

"Tried to take'em down, but they threw some kind of paint bomb at me," he explained. "Covered my visor. Then some weird looking Shaved Wookie thing attacked me with an electric staff. These ain't amateurs, Kamo. Not like some of the Rebels we've had to take on before."

"Forget about them," the Clone told him as he steadied the Lieutenant. "Let's get the hell out of here before things get even worse."

A terrible thunderclap and flash of light signaled for him that it just had. This time though, Kamo didn't suspect it was the Rebels doing. No, it was their other enemy, the bigger one. His old instincts kicked in and something told Kamo that they had just lost.

* * *

When the barrier went down, it was only a question of time. The storm he had smelt from before was now closing in over the pit. Godzilla stared up into it and bellowed loudly. This was his chance, the opportunity he had been waiting for. He did not know how the barrier had gone down, but it didn't matter. He was now free to exert a last ditch effort to escape this toxic gas hole.

Energy pooled in the back of his throat, building and swirling within him. When he released it, a tornado of power ejected from his mouth and shot straight up into the sky. It collided with the thunderclouds above, absorbed itself into them. Within seconds, lighting crashed down from the skies and into the pit. Godzilla huddled up, placing his spines towards the heavens and steeling himself.

Pain slashed into his back, slashing and licking at his fins. They acted like little lighting rods all along his spine. It hurt, but it also energized him. The power of the lighting was transferred through his dorsal fins and into his body, fueling it with their sheer ferocity and chaotic energy. Godzilla's eyes glowed a brighter blue with every bolt that struck him, while his body jolted and pivoted from the strain. Yes, electricity did hurt him, but only when used properly. When natural lighting could be harnessed, it's potential could be used to fuel him instead.

As new found energy coursed through his veins, even with the pain searing across his whole body, Godzilla felt his full power returning. With a triumphant roar that shook the very sky he pounded his feet into the ground with a massive stomp. A fissure opened into the quarry and headed towards the rock wall. When it reached, it continued up it until the stone cracked and fell to earth in a massive tumbling rockslide.

Godzilla then powered up his radioactive breath once more and fired it at the gas still surrounding him. The beam caused the gas to ignite, turning the quarry into a sea of fire. Before, Godzilla would dare not risk this. The gas was sapping his strength, he needed all of his power to keep himself regenerating, using it to blow up the gas would've been ineffective, especially with more and more of it being pumped into the quarry by the second. Now the flow had ebbed and his full power had been returned to him. He did not need to hold back anymore.

He ran to the rockslide, as flames licked up all around him. He dug his claws into the broken and torn away stone, clawing his way up the side of the quarry. The fissure had torn open the quarry walk and it was no no longer as steep. It was nothing more to Godzilla now than what a hike up a large hill was. Before long, Godzilla clambered out of the pit, finally escaping the trap the humans had set.

As he kept crouched on all fours, Godzilla took big gulps of fresh air. Free, once again, free. The humans had given it their very best shot and they had failed. As they always failed. They could not stop what he was. They thought they could contain him. They could no more do that than they could contain a hurricane or halt an earthquake. With another triumphant roar piercing at the sky, Godzilla sent a message to the white clad army. That their coward's weapon hadn't stopped him, that nothing could stop him.

But then, suddenly, he stopped roaring. His victory cry ebbed. He thought he heard something. A voice in his mind, but not his own and not a memory. It called from outside, a feeling that he could not help but investigate. He turned to where the strange feeling was leading him, pulling himself to an upright position before slowly easing himself down again as he closed on the source.

When he did, he saw a strange looking humanoid, surrounded by other strange looking humanoids., standing near one of the white-clad army flying machines. These humanoids were not the same as the soldiers he had been fighting though. They were not clad in the colors of the army, they did not all smell of human and the strange creature in the center was acting odd. It held up its hand to him, its face lowered slightly as if deep in thought. The not-human creature did not seem aggressive, no threat triggered in his mind. All he got was some vague sounding thought nibbling in his skull.

Talk.

* * *

Kanan, as everyone else did, looked incredibly nervous and agitated at the same time. He looked rather incredulously at Ahsoka, still holding her hand up to the monster. She was clearly physically strained just trying to reach out to the lizard, but she refused to stop.

"Ahsoka, we got him out," Kanan told her growling. "Let's just go!"

"Not until we try," Ahsoka shouted, trying to maintain her composure.

"We said we were going to discuss this first," Kanan reminded her.

"We may not get another chance," she informed him. "He already recognizes we're not a threat now, I can feel as much. If we leave now, he may not consider even giving us a chance."

The giant reptile growled loudly at the group, its eyes darting from side to side. Kanan looked to Ezra, biting his lower lip. They didn't get the chance to think about the matter, didn't get the chance to evaluate and plan. This was a bad idea, he knew it was a bad idea.

"Could we figure out something before he eats us," Zeb asked through gritted teeth.

Damn it, Kanan thought. Ahsoka had forced their hand. He probably should've suspected she would. He was not happy, not at all. But he didn't have a choice now. He turned to Ezra.

"Alright, this is like training but different," he explained to the young Jedi as he kneeled down beside him. "Connect through the Force in tandem with me and Ahsoka. You'll be able to see, feel and sense everything we do. I'm not sure what will happen when we connect with that thing's mind, but be careful. Like I said we've-"

"Never done it with something this big," Ezra replied nervously. "Yeah, just tell me what to do. We gotta at least give it a shot."

Kanan sighed, put his hand on Ahsoka's shoulder and moved Ezra's to the other as well. The strain left Ahsoka's face slightly as the Force flowed through them all and reached towards the mind of the giant reptile in front of them. Everything started to blur slowly, like it would during a trance in meditation. The world melted away and soon Kanan was no longer standing near the quarry or his crewmates. In fact, he didn't know where he was.

* * *

Things came back into focus slowly, as an otherworldly landscape appeared before them. Dense jungle and fog, bluish hues from above as if they were beneath waves and slight molten red lighting their feet. Strands of light stretched down from nowhere as bizarre distant sounds echoed all around them.

"We're inside," Ahsoka told the others as they looked around.

"Inside where?" Ezra asked tepidly.

"We're sharing a collective vision together as we commune with the creature," she informed him calmly. "I imagine it's only a matter time before it notices our presence."

There was a low guttural growl from the darkness beyond their range of sight. The rumble echoed towards them, washing over them. It held thoughts, feelings, emotions. At first, it was hard to discern what they meant, as they were flooded with them. Curiosity, questioning, existence, along with other abstract constructs. They soon formed into a single idea.

What are you?

This was how the creature was talking to them, not through voice, not through words, but something else. None of the Force Users were sure what it was, but they decided they should answer.

"We're friends," Ahsoka approached respectfully.

Another rumble and series of thoughts washed over them. Different, strange, unlikely, untrue. The thought they formed was a simple one as well. Your kind are not friends.

"We are not like the soldiers you fought, we mean you no harm," Ahsoka reiterated. "We only wish to talk and understand. Perhaps we can help."

The answering rumble was one of disdain and aloofness. It said that he did not need help not from their kind. This time Kanan approached to speak.

"We have already helped you," he stated firmly. "We're the reason you got out of that pit. We shut off that shield, stopped those trains from pumping in more gas. We almost died several times doing that by the way."

Another rumble of disdain, with added emphasis of the concept pride and arrogance, self-importance and demands of respect. There was also a sense of disbelief and skepticism. Even if true I would have escaped, it said, you were not needed.

"Didn't look like that from where I was standing," Kanan argued back.

A louder rumble, demanding, insolence, great emphasis on pride and arrogance. It called for respect and even forced Kanan back slightly. Ahsoka reached for his shoulder and shook her head at him.

"We mean no disrespect," Ahsoka assured. "If anything we all know how truly powerful you are. More importantly, we understood you're intelligent. It's why we're having this conversation in the first place. We just want to know more. For starters, can you tell us your name? If you have one that is.

Flashes from the strands sparked as light billowed and formed from them. This time, there were words. They were messy at first, but the slowly formed into something comprehensible. Perhaps they were translated into a form they could understand or simply how their minds came to perceive them. They flashed for an instant and then were gone. Apparently, there were many titles.

King of Monsters, Wrath of Nature, Punishment for Humanity's Sins, Child of Atom, Last of Kin, God of Destruction, Terror of Man, Scourge of Sea, Atomic Titan, Apex Predator. Eventually, though, the names began to fade, replaced by something else, a preferred title it seemed. It read Gojira first... then formed into Godzilla. Apparently, that sufficed for the moment or was the monster's favorite. They couldn't be certain. All the Jedi knew was that they felt a icy cold spike shiver down their bodies as the name grew larger and slowly vanished.

"Well, it's unique," Ezra compliment. "What does it mean?"

A flood of concepts filled the air in a torrent. Punishment, chaos, death, vengeance, power, everything and nothing. Ezra was quick to regret asking the question and brushed the thoughts away.

"Alright, fine, I walked into that, sorry," he admitted. "But, where are you from anyway? Are you native to this world?"

No thoughts this time, no words. Instead, hazy images began to form through the jungle, rock, fog and water around them. Images of a distant world, a distant time. Explosions, fire, chaos and war. Ships and tanks, machines and monsters. Battles that raged between him and all sides in a seemingly never ending conflict. The images went by so fast, it was almost hard to comprehend them all.

"He's not native to this world," Ahsoka soon realized. "He's from somewhere else. I don't even think it's in our galaxy."

"That doesn't explain how he-"

"Look," Ezra said, interrupting Kanan and pointing to one of the images.

A large purple and black ball of energy flew towards them before the image blacked out. An explosion erupted moments later, one of blue light and fire. When the image settled, they were looking out on the three moons of Tsuburonda. The images seemed to feed into their minds, telling them more about their meaning, forming a fuller understanding in time. Ezra was first to grasp what the images were speaking to him.

"Some kind of attempt by the people of that other world to kill him," He slowly reasoned. "But it didn't work, it sent him here to this planet."

"That must've been some weapon," Kanan noted. "Surprised he survived it."

Images of previous battles flashed again in front of them. An accompanying wave of thought washed over their own minds, more as a confident boast than anything else. It spoke of struggle, hardship and survival. I am not so easily killed, it said.

"We noticed," Ahsoka replied. "We've seen your previous fights with the Empire. You've done a lot of damage to them on this world. We share a common foe in that regard."

The next wave of thought washed through them, this one more simple. Similar, unremarkable, unsurprised, was what it contained. How expected, it said, a slight hint of boredom resonating in the sentence. It was an odd response, one that Kanan found suspicious.

"You have a problem with us fighting them?" He asked.

Another wave of thought, mostly the same abstract concepts as before contained within the rumbling. However, this time it contained 'history' among the ideas within and it altered the derived meaning considerably. Your kind always fights each other, it said, no matter the galaxy, you create petty wars among yourselves. Kanan now felt rather offended by the clarified accusation.

"How the hell are we petty?" He asked incredulously. "We're trying to stop the Empire from hurting people. That's a noble cause. A lot better than just mindless destruction at least."

A wave of thought crashed over them, pushing back Kanan as it did, the rumbling particularly directed at him as well. The wave itself carried ignorance and fury, disrespect and penance. It is not mindless, they spoke, it is punishment. They are arrogant and exploitative, it insisted, they deserve death. A second wave crashed over them, finality, absolution, freedom were all found within it. This world must be cleansed of them so that I may find peace, it said.

"But we feel the same way," Ezra insisted. "We want to stop the Empire. We want peace. Not just on this planet, but everywhere."

The wave of thoughts returned, more skepticism, more doubt, even more history. It's meaning was readily obvious. Your kind does not want peace. Before Ezra or anyone else could challenge the assertion, images began to flash around them. Weapons of war, crumbling cities, parading armies and boisterous military leaders. Towns set ablaze, whole forests burned to the ground by bombs, a sea filled with sunken ships from centuries past.

"Looks like his world isn't any better off than our galaxy," Kanan noted.

"So, you don't like our kind because of the people on your world?" Ahsoka asked. "Because of their war-like behavior."

The wave of thought cascaded down once more. Singular, fraction, semi-accurate, partial. These concepts soon spelled out a more concrete thought. Only part of reason, they said, conclusion from encounters. That wasn't good enough for Ahsoka though, she wanted a better explanation.

"Then why? Why attack them? I get that the Empire reminds you of them, but you said this was about punishment. What did they do?"

The next wave was small, it only contained three concepts. Retribution, Rage and Pain. They hurt me, was all it said. Within moments, images flashed before them. The same world as before but different, quiet, less crowded. Where the sentients Godzilla fought were nowhere to be found. They soon realized this was the past, a prehistoric time. Then it faded, grew darker, less inviting. Volcanos spewed fire. forests began to die, the land shifted and cracked. Godzilla sunk beneath miles of water and earth, fleeing as the world died away, slipping into prolonged hibernation as the energy that fed him ebbed. Then, suddenly the images went hot white and a deafening thunderclap howled at them. The Jedi staggered back as the images formed into a singular one. A cloud shaped like a mushroom rising into the atmosphere, fire engulfing everything, vaporizing what was near, tearing into and destroying everything else.

"That is one really big bomb," Kanan realized.

The images continued, showing a Godzilla awakened by the blast. The massive influx of radiation pulling him out of his long sleep to a changed world. He too felt different, altered, as if the powerful explosion had changed him as well. Disturbed from his peaceful slumber, confused by the changes, grieved at being the last of his kind and enraged by those who's weapon had done this, he lashed out at the world around him. The images showed a city, one Godzilla set aflame with his rage. He was angered by what he saw built over what was once his. It was as if the humans had awoken him just to gloat.

Then, when he fell back into the waters, tired from his rampage and attempting to find peace after his sudden traumatic awakening, the humans struck back. This time with a weapon that seemed to boil the water around him, sear his flesh, burn away his very body down to the bone. It was excruciating. The Jedi almost felt like what they were watching was happening to them. Their bodies prickled and warmed, the felt like scratching and tearing, but it was only a fraction of the pain, not the full impact.

Godzilla was then shown, fleeing further down into the water, blood pouring from his ripped open body. He crawled on the seabed just to get away, slipping into a crack in ocean floor as his last resort. He had narrowly averted death by the slimmest of margins. The Jedi then saw Godzilla lay in wait for close to a year as his wounds healed, the creature's thoughts emanating outward to them like it had with all the images before. This time, however, it was more clear and direct. This was more of a meticulous thought process.

As Godzilla lay in recovery, he felt the far off explosions of more bombs like those that awakened him. The seeds of a cold conflict between nations still building. Godzilla came to understand humans as a vicious and self-destructive species. They created weapons that had brought him back and then made another specifically tailored to kill him, caring little for any other consequences it would do to the sea.

The thoughts swarmed in Godzilla's head until the formed a conclusion over the long months. That humans would always seek to destroy that which stood in their way, whether it was each other or nature itself. He would never be safe as long as humans survived on this planet, never be free. They would create more weapons, more tools of death. They needed to be cowed, subdued, beaten, taught to stop abusing their power. He'd do so by showing them what true power was, that nature could not be defeated. He would carve out a place in this world, by force if necessary. It was about survival as much as revenge. Ezra's own thoughts were stirred by the images he saw.

"You were angry over what the world became," Ezra reasoned, sounding a little distant as he did. "What you lost. What was happening to you and everything around you. So you turned against the world and everyone in it."

"And you did the same to the Empire because you sensed they were the same," Ahsoka added. "You attacked them because you knew they'd hurt you if they discovered you."

"More to the point," Kanan stated practically. "He quickly realized there weren't as many here as on his old planet. So unlike there, he stood a chance of chasing them off world or exterminating them outright. Leaving him finally at peace, just how he wanted it from the start."

For once the rumble was receptive towards Kanan, a wave of agreement, recognition and understanding washed over them. Images of the Stormtroopers and their weapons being destroyed appeared as well. Taking it all in, the meaning was easy enough to deduce. When the White Army is gone, I will reign over my new kingdom alone.

"Then we can help you," Ahsoka assured him once again. "The only reason the Empire is even here is because they're building something. Something terrible, like the weapon that hurt you. They're going to use it against a lot of innocent people."

Apathy washed over the Jedi as Ahsoka spoke. It asked aloud as it crashed over their minds,What do I care?

"Because if you help us destroy their weapon and the place they're building it in, the Empire will leave," Kanan reiterated. "That's what you want, right?"

Another wave of apathy, with an added concept of disgust flooded past them. I will not be your weapon, it said, I am no one's tool. Fight your own war, it finished, I am not part of it. Ahsoka tried to reassert herself.

"We're not asking you to be our weapon," she explained. "We're asking you to be an ally. The Empire is an enemy that we both share, who we both want off this planet for different reasons. What we're proposing is a mutual partnership."

Another wave of apathy and disgust, rage growing within. It said; I will not be party to your kind's wars. Your cause is not as noble as you claim. The displeasure within the wave continued as it rolled on. They use a powerful weapon, it stated, you ask me to act as a counter. It concluded with a final thought of utter loathing.

You wish to use me, you are no better than them.

Ahsoka's head dropped, she tried to think of a new angle, a new approach. Kanan looked about fed up with the whole thing, ready to give up. Ezra, however, he strode to the front and stood attentively.

"You're right," he admitted. "We are asking you to get involved in our conflict. I don't know if that's right, but despite what you think, we're not like the Empire. If we were, we'd be forcing you to do this, threatening you, torturing you to comply, stealing people you love or destroying your families to get you to do what we want. But that's not us."

Ezra looked to both Ahsoka and Kanan briefly. His Master looked a bit puzzled, but he ushered him on. Ahsoka just nodded. Ezra took the cue and continued.

"Those humans on your world, they hurt you, but it's because they didn't understand," he argued. "Maybe they didn't want to understand. Maybe they were just scared. No one knows better what fear can do to someone than me or my friends. We realized we couldn't stop the Empire on our own, that's why we joined with each other, became a crew, a family. Now we're asking you to help us, that's more than any human or sentient being has ever done with you. We've never hurt you and to be honest we don't want to. If all you want is a place where you can find peace, where you can feel safe, then we share more in common than you realize. That's what we want, but we know we can't do it alone either."

There was a low rumble, but no wave. Ezra kept going, trying to wrap it up.

"Give us a chance," he asked humbly. "Let us show you we're different. Help us, please."

There was a silence around them for a bit. Eventually a rumble was sounded, a wave washed over them. Within they felt the concept of query, condition, interest, danger. The formed a question; This weapon could be used against me?

"More than likely," Ahsoka answered. "Especially now that you've escape this latest trap. They're probably getting ready to use it right now. It is being built at a facility to the east of here."

A similar wave followed, one that asked; If it is destroyed the White Army will leave?

"It's the only reason they're occupying this world," Ahsoka replied.

Another wave, but this one felt more hostile as it asked; You will leave as well?

"Yes," Ahsoka stated firmly.

A final wave crashed over them, conclusion, acceptance, alliance, convenience. I will destroy this weapon, it said, but not for you. As the thought finished, the jungle, ocean and rock started to fade. The images and strands of light vanished. They spelt out two final threatening words before they disappeared back into the ether.

Leave. Now.

And with that, the landscape in the vision evaporated.

* * *

When Kanan came to, he found Hera standing over him calling his name. He was tempted to wait it out and see how else she tried to revive him, but he knew he'd just get a thrashing later. So he sat up.

"What happened?" He asked.

"That thing just started walking away after a few minutes," she explained. "Then all three of you dropped to the ground."

Kanan looked and saw Ezra being helped up into a sitting position by Sabine and Zeb doing the same for Ahsoka. All three Force Users held their heads in pain, the strain of the connection to giant lizard obvious to all. As for Godzilla, he hadn't gotten far. He was stomping off in the direction of the Imperial facility, growing smaller as he walked into the horizon, his back turned to their little band. He looked over at Ezra specifically who slowly noticed his master stare.

"Okay, gotta hand it to ya there," he admitted to the young boy. "Good work, Ezra. This one is on you."

"Indeed," Ahsoka added with a beaming smile. "You truly are full of surprises, Ezra Bridger."

The others looked a bit confused by the statements of the two Jedi. Ezra, however, couldn't help but soak in the praise a bit, rubbing the back of his head and smiling meekly. Everyone else just wanted answers.

"Mind filling us in?" Zeb asked. "Is that thing helping us or not?"

"His name is Godzilla," Ezra informed the Lasat. "And yes, he's helping us. Sorta. It's complicated."

"Point is he knows we're not a threat," Ahsoka assured the group. "And he will assist us in the coming battle. I'll explain more on the way back, but we need to get moving. I don't think our new friend is going to wait for us to begin his attack."

The group got to their feet and began walking back towards the _Ghost_ still concealed within the rocks. As they did, Sabine walked up alongside Ezra.

"Godzilla, huh?" She asked inquisitively. "Interesting name. I like it. What's it mean?"

"Again, it's complicated," Ezra assured her with a chuckle.

"Fair enough," She shrugged, switching to a new line of questioning. "So, what was it like in that thing's head."

Ezra grew a bit less jovial and turned his head slightly towards what little he could make out of the massive lizard.

"Illuminating," he said distantly.

* * *

They had managed to grab one of the Patrol Transports stationed near the back of the assembly area and flown out of the quarry. As they did, Kamo watched the giant lizard crawl out of their trap and stop suddenly, looking down at something. Still coming to terms with their narrow loss, Kamo looked through the macrobinoculars he carried and was stunned by what he saw.

The same three people from the train, the ones with the lightsabers. Not only were they alive, but they had their hands outstretched, their eyes closed, as if in a meditative stance. No, they were in a meditative stance, because they were communing with the monster. Only one group of people could do that.

Kamo froze in place, his mind racing. Some had survived, somehow they had survived. After all these years of thinking he had helped end them, now three were on the same planet as him. He thought back to the night he saw the strange leaping shadow. Yes, that had been one of them now, he was sure of it. They were alive, they were here and they were talking with that thing. It had been foolish to ignore his initial instincts and it had cost them.

There were Jedi on Tsuburonda. Survivors of Order 66, survivors of his attack on the Temple for all he knew. They were working with Alpha Predator One, intent on destroying the Empire's operation here and him with it. Fear and rage bubbled into Kamo's mind as he pulled the macrobinoculars away. His breathing grew heavy, his grip tightened. And then, in the very back of his mind, a voice came. a voice that repeated words long forgotten and now remembered. A mantra that he suddenly recalled speaking to himself over the screams of dying Jedi on Coruscant. Along with the words, those same screams returned. And then, out of nowhere, he spoke them in a robotic, menacing tone without even realizing it.

"Good soldiers follow orders."

* * *

AN: Well that can't be good. If you want more information on what that means along with other tidbits, check out the profile page for the latest behind the scenes update. For now, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and all the crazy stuff that happened in it. Also, Eiji Tsuburaya's 114th birthday happened earlier this month. How appropriate that another installment of this series has been uploaded so close to a man who quite frankly created the genre I love so dear. At least the special effects aspect of it of course. I like to think Tsuburaya-san would approve of my attempts to live up to his legacy in this silly little story, as well as enjoy me naming a planet partially after him and one of his close contemporaries at Toho. Anyway, this has been a fun chapter to write. Please, don't forget to review, I do enjoy all your constructive feedback and interesting comments. I hope the story continues to entertain. Thank you all again for your support. Till next time.


	8. Now You'll Suffer for It!

Chapter 7: Now You'll Suffer For It!

Darth Vader stormed into the Command Center, flanked by his personal guard. Sakal, leaning over the command console, turned to him as he entered. He suspected he wanted news on the operation and how it was going. Unfortunately, Sakal had nothing for him as the latest reports hadn't come in. Interference from a sudden storm in the area, plus the radiation, had made a mess of the impromptu probe droid messenger system. It was taking longer to receive the much needed intel. He'd have to stall for time. Just until he actually had something to report.

"Lord Vader," he began, trying to sound in control. "I am awaiting further information on the operation. Final confirmation of the monster's death should be coming-"

"I do not need your report," Vader boomed at him loudly. "The creature has escaped your trap."

Sakal looked aghast, how could he possibly know that? He couldn't know that. Surely this was a test, a way to gauge his ability to keep composed in a dire situation. He did his best to keep his cool.

"Sir, I highly doubt it could've freed itself," Sakal insisted. "Just because it's taking longer than expected-"

"I am not mistaken," Vader declared loudly. "I have sensed his escape through my meditation. It is free of the quarry and not entirely of it's own hand."

Sakal stared at Vader wide-eyed, trying to see through the dark mask he wore. He kept trying to see if he could determine whether or not this was a joke on his part. But Vader didn't joke and he did not sound like he was toying with the General either. No, he was truly enraged. Sakal feared he was about to learn Nulon's lesson, that the saber on the dark armored man's hip would start to glow. Instead, nothing happened, Vader just stood there. So Sakal started to ask his own question. If Alpha Predator One hadn't escaped on his own, that only left one explanation.

"Are you saying the Rebels helped free him?" He asked tepidly.

"Indeed," Vader grimly answered. "And I suspect they are already on their way here, following in the creature's wake."

"Following?" Sakal asked again, more fearful than before. "Alpha Predator One is coming here?"

Vader didn't answer that. He didn't need to, Sakal knew he was telling the truth. This was it then, the final stand, all or nothing. That monster would charge in here, destroy all their work and then the Rebels would mop up the rest. He turned to Vader and stood at attention.

"What are your orders, Lord Vader?" He asked readily.

"I have already ordered more AT-ATs down to the surface, along with other special walkers held in reserve," Lord Vader answered simply. "Contact all remaining Imperial Forces and relocate them here. We shall hold this facility no matter the cost. Star Destroyers are on their way and I have already instructed Doctor Boll to finish final preparations on the prototype immediately."

Sakal looked back in surprise. He was considering unleashing the Zillo-Beast on Alpha Predator One? That seemed a drastic measure. Not mention potentially costly if it failed.

"Are you certain of that, my Lord?" He asked, trying not to sound like he disagreed with the plan.

"It is a last resort," Vader coldly explained. "One I will only enact should all else fail."

Sakal knew what Vader really meant. "All else" was really referring to him. If he failed. Sakal really did not want to think about what else Vader would do should that happen. As the Dark Lord left he turned slightly back to look at the General, a threatening glare as he did so.

"This shall be our final stand," he declared. "Either the monster and the Rebels fall, or this facility does."

With that, Darth Vader left taking his Stormtroopers with him. Again, Sakal realized the real meaning behind the statement. It wasn't their last stand at all, just his.

* * *

"Are we really sure this is such a good idea?" Zeb asked. "I mean I know it's a bit late to back out now but..."

"You're free to go over there and tell him you're having second thoughts," Kanan jovially informed him.

He pointed over to Godzilla, who they were following behind at a considerable distance of at least half a mile. The giant was plodding along at a relatively steady pace. Even at this distance, they could feel the reverberation of his footsteps. Like miniature earthquakes every couple of seconds.

"Yeah, how about you do that instead," Zeb grumbled back before he elaborated further. "I'm just saying, it feels like we're putting a bit too much faith in that lizard. That and the idea of making deals with a giant monster is pretty disturbing."

"We're not relying on faith," Ahsoka informed him. "Everything we learned about him suggests Godzilla only cares about destroying all perceived threats. So long as he believes something is dangerous to him, he will pursue it. We made our point clear concerning the Zillo-Beast's danger to him and that's all he needs to justify destroying it."

Kanan turned to the Togruta, a bit of a suspicious glare as he looked at her.

"And yet you didn't tell him that the weapon was a giant cybernetic killer alien clone," Kanan reminded her. "Any reason why?"

"I don't think that's a detail he would've cared about," Ahsoka explained plainly. "Given what we learned of his history, do you honestly think he'd care? Besides, that creature waiting for us in that lab is more weapon than anything. It's hardly a deception. Do you disagree?"

"I don't," Kanan admitted. "It's just weird how you treated it. Almost like you were giving a briefing to someone. Information on a need to know basis and all that. Like he was one of your recruits."

Ahsoka crossed her arms and eyed her fellow Force User with a slight air of disdain.

"Technically he is," Ahsoka stated in a technical tone. "Even if he won't admit it. In any case, it won't matter. We'll be leaving this planet the moment the facility, the research and the prototype itself are all destroyed. Godzilla will get what he wants and so will we. Everyone walks away a winner."

"Except the Empire of course," Zeb added with a chuckle. "But who cares about them, right?"

Certainly no one within the small convoy of vehicles currently following the giant reptile. Said convoy was a mix of several vehicles, mostly re-purposed by the Rebels from both sides of the Clone Wars. Only a few were newer attack vehicles. Most of the motorized forces consisted of either AAT-1 Hover Tanks or AT-TEs, the main attack vehicles of both the Separatists and Republic respectively. The former were no longer manned by droids, but they were still as effective as they were under their previous owners. Not nearly as powerful as any of the Empire's newer 2-M tanks of course. Like the AT-TEs though, they had been upgraded to at least be able to put up a decent enough fight. Said AT-TEs were also slower than anything the Empire had, but they made up for it in their ability to take a hit. They'd both be the main thrust of the operation.

The Rebels did have other walkers though, besides the old AT-TEs. A number of AT-AP Walkers were in their service. A number of Rebel Cells had liberated these during the chaos of the post-Clone Wars era. While not nearly as well armored as Imperial Walkers, they made up for it with a laser that could tear buildings apart with ease. Surrounding these walkers, protecting them from the heavy vehicles that could tear them apart, were skiffs outfitted with anti-vehicle weapons. Apparently they came from a small cell stationed on Tattooine. They liked harassing Imperial patrols with them and had been fairly successful in a number of raids on small convoys.

The Rebels also had long range artillery capabilities, again with liberated Clone Wars tech. Hailfire Droids had given the Republic hell back in the day, now they would help restore it. Their big wheels were a bit cumbersome, but their long-range missiles were all that mattered in the long run. They were mostly at the back of the column, ready to bombard the Imperials when the time came. Speeder bikes waited with them in reserve, prepared to dash out into the field to swarm what was left of the Stormtroopers when the bombardment ended.

However, the bulk of the attack was infantry, hidden in either the AT-TEs for protection, riding on speeder transports, or huddled inside one of three massive rolling monsters on wheels. Juggernauts, powerful killing machines that could destroy tanks and fixed positions with relative ease using their powerful mounted laser cannons and rocket launchers. More importantly, they could house several squads in their massive frames. They would be the hammer of the attack, forcing their way into the Imperial positions and allowing the Rebels to storm the complex.

Yet even with all this hardware they had scrounged together, it was still nothing compared to what Moira had claimed was waiting for them at the facility itself. A second recon flight reported that the Imperials were delivering even more AT-ATs, as well as a few smaller Missile Walkers called AT-MPs. They were already bulking up their defenses up in preparation for Godzilla and, as Ahsoka suspected, their little convoy too. She wouldn't be surprised if a few Star Destroyers moved into position soon.

Now, as she stood in the Command Cabin for the Juggernaut, she wondered if Godzilla would be able to handle all of that on his own. They'd probably need to give him a slight helping hand in some capacity. It was why she had kept Moira's team in the air, ready to assist Godzilla when the assault began.

She had other concerns than just Godzilla though. There was Kanan too, who had been rather cold and abrasive towards her since the mental vision with Godzilla had ended. His latest comments, were just the latest in a string of minor jabs at her for how things had gone down at the quarry. It was only now she was starting to notice them more readily.

"Kinda funny how we're helping him kick the Empire out though," Kanan said suddenly with a sardonic tone. "We're basically handing the planet over to him."

"At least he only wants control of one planet," Ahsoka noted. "And an otherwise uninhabited one at that."

"Just seems odd for Rebels to do is all," Kanan shrugged. "It's kinda like installing a dictator. He's a monster, but he's our monster, right?"

The mocking tone had finally gotten to Ahsoka. She couldn't ignore it anymore. She approached the surly Cowboy Jedi and confronted him directly.

"Is there something you want to get off your chest, Kanan?" She asked, perhaps a bit less reserved than usual. "Because I think it would be better for everyone if you did."

"Alright," he growled lowly. "You really want to know? Here it is. I'm still not exactly thrilled with how things went down. You said we'd talk it out first, instead you force the issue on me and Ezra. Not exactly what we discussed. Not exactly very Jedi either."

"Well I'm not a Jedi," Ahsoka replied succinctly.

"Yeah, thanks for the reminder," Kanan shot back. "I'm starting to realize why you quit."

Ahsoka grimaced at him and his aggressive stance.

"What happened, happened," she flatly declared. "I made my choice and I had to live with it. If you think that makes me a lesser person, fine, but don't pretend you understand the why of it."

"I understand enough to know you keep pushing my crew into these situations," he explained. "Situations I'm not entirely on board with. I may have volunteered for this, but I did not volunteer for Ezra to be used in what was essentially an untested, first time ever mental connection like that. We're lucky we're still able to eat food unassisted and stand up straight."

"I took precautions," Ahsoka insisted. "I prepared our way beforehand. Godzilla understood we posed no real threat or wanted to wish him harm. That was our in. We had to take it before that door closed. It was a calculated risk, the same as any other action."

"No, not the same," Kanan declared, pointing his finger at her. "Because Ezra didn't appreciate the danger he was in. I was the only one doing that."

At this time, Zeb was looking between the two Jedi nervously. Slowly but surely, he got up from his seat and started moving away from them. Neither of them noticed and Ahsoka continued the conversation.

"I remember you being proud of Ezra," Ahsoka informed him. "You congratulated him."

"Because he exceeded even my expectations and I was proud of him," Kanan insisted. "But that doesn't get you off the hook for risking his life like that. His and mine actually. All for a plan that in the end only barely worked."

"We're on the same side, Kanan," Ahsoka firmly informed him. "I don't want to lose you or Ezra anymore than any other soldier, but we cannot ignore the fact that such a thing might happen. If something went wrong I would've been prepared to shield you from the consequences. I would've ejected you both from the connection if I had to. I was at as much risk as you were, maybe more."

"Oh, so that somehow makes it okay then?" Kanan asked vindictively. "And that's another thing, I don't like being called a soldier. I'm not that, not anymore. To be honest, sometimes I wonder if we're really on the same side like you say we are. Mainly because a lot of the stuff you put us through is more than what any of us signed on for, what Ezra signed on for. We were just trying to save one little corner of the Galaxy before, not take on the whole Empire."

Ahsoka sighed, shaking her head. After all this time, did he still not understand? This fight was bigger than any one planet. Bigger than any one person or grievance. Hera had mentioned they had started together under less than noble aspirations. Kanan felt doing good at the start was just a nice bonus to, well, spending time with her it seemed. He had changed greatly over the years, but as Ahsoka feared he wasn't interested in being part of a bigger movement. Perhaps it reminded him too much of what happened before, too similar to the Republic that turned on him. And now, with his own apprentice to look after, his priorities had shifted again.

"Take it from me, Kanan," Ahsoka tried to tell him calmly. "You can't protect him forever. Every Jedi, Master or Apprentice, eventually has to leave the other. They have to find their own way in the Force and have to be willing to let them."

"I am willing," Kanan steadfastly assured her. "But when he's ready, not before. When he's prepared for the danger, when he knows what he's going to face. Not when he's still some hot shot kid looking for a little glory."

Kanan's words started sounding personal, mixed with the past and present. Ahsoka honestly wondered if he was even talking about Ezra anymore. In a way, she understood what he was getting at. Ezra needed to be ready, but in some ways, so did Kanan.

"He'll never be ready if you don't give him the chance," Ahsoka informed him. "None of them will. We can't keep waiting and hoping we'll be ready, we don't have that luxury. Sometimes... we just need to take a leap."

Now she was sounding nostalgic. Her thoughts drifting back to a time that was a lot more simple. A time that held as many wounds for her as it did for the Cowboy Jedi before her. Kanan probably noticed, but he didn't budge much on the subject.

"You know, you better hope that our new friend stays okay with being a part of this rebellion for the moment," Kanan told her. "So far he's been able to tolerate this, like I do. That might change though. Because honestly, he had a point. You are using him."

"In a way, he's using us too," Ahsoka noted. "I'm sure at least he thinks of it like that."

"Just don't think for a second that my crew is as willing as him," Kanan reiterated. "We have the same goals, but we're not your soldiers. Remember that."

Kanan walked off, not angrily, but not exactly in a friendly manner either. Ahsoka finally noticed Zeb in the corner, rubbing the back of his head at the whole scene.

"Eh, he's just letting off some steam," he tried to assure the togruta. "I think it has more to do with the kid than you, honestly."

"I'd like to believe that," Ahsoka sighed, turning back towards the sight of the distant Godzilla ahead of them.

Kanan was right though, she was using Godzilla. In many ways she was using all the Rebel Cells. It was for a common goal though, a noble one. Then again, how many times had the Jedi Order said that very thing to themselves? With any luck this wouldn't end as badly as that though. They just had to stay the course a little longer. This mission was almost over. It all relied on Godzilla pulling through against incredible odds. She wondered if the big lizard relished the challenge actually. Perhaps this was more than just shared interest than, maybe he just wanted a good fight. If that was the case, the Empire was certainly going to give it to him.

* * *

Kamo had always feared this day. In the back of his mind he just knew it would happen. You can't expect to kill a whole damn Order of the most powerful warriors in the Galaxy wholesale. No, some had to have escaped. He just kept lying to himself that they hadn't. Now, they were back. They were back for him. They had to be. And somehow, he didn't know how exactly, they had brought that monster with them. It was the only explanation his mind could come up with for such a huge coincidence. This creature shows up at the same time as a bunch of Jedi return? They attack this planet, of all planets, with him on it? No, not coincidence, it couldn't be.

He had seen it with his own eyes. somehow those Jedi were controlling that monster. He knew they could do that, Clones knew everything about the Jedi. For all he knew, every attack was orchestrated by them, that this creature was in fact part of whatever plan they had in store. Alpha Predator One was an instrument in this endeavor, being used to strike back against the Empire on this remote world. And why this world? Because he was here, one of the last Clones still active in the service. They probably found out about his deployment here and took the chance to get revenge for what had happened.

Kamo didn't know if that was completely reasonable, or if it sounded at all rational to anyone else. He supposed it only really made sense to him. No one else had been at the Temple, no one else knew the details of what exactly they had to do that night. They only people who knew were Clones who had been there and Jedi. To everyone else it was just some little blurb in a history book or a short holo film that ran on the networks. They didn't know the truth, they were just told to regurgitate some story they had been fed. He knew what really happened and why the Jedi would be after a Clone like him.

He had been right about the monster having an intelligence and goal behind its actions. He didn't suspect it was due, at the very least in part, to Jedi trickery. That creature was still a danger alright, still smarter than what Command seemed to believe, but now Kamo knew where some of that direction it had came from. However, he didn't share it with the others, he didn't share it with anyone. He couldn't let people know Jedi were still alive. One, because that would create a panic among the ranks. Two, because he couldn't really confirm it beyond his own suspicions. And Three, because his mind told him not to. He had to remain secretive, quiet, so no one would stop him from doing what had to be done.

They had been quickly diverted to a massive facility, residing close to the cracked and blackened volcanic landscape. Said volcano was only a mile or so away from the complex, relatively dormant and only spewing out a few harmless lava flows that had been guided away from the facility.

The facility itself was massive, almost like a small city onto itself. Apparently they needed to hook up a plasma reactor that sucked up power from the planet's core just to keep it all running. Kamo didn't know why they needed such a huge complex, but he suspected it was for something big. This was obviously what they had been protecting all these years. Why else would they call them all here to defend it?

Defend it, not just against the approaching giant lizard, but Rebels that had somehow gotten past the blockade and onto Tsuburonda. Now they were following Alpha Predator One it seemed and they'd be attacking this facility alongside the reptile. That pretty much confirmed Kamo's suspicions that the Jedi were directing the monster, but again he didn't say anything. He knew Command wouldn't believe him about the Jedi with a more tangible threat in the form of a Rebel assault force on the way. Even if they did, they certainly wouldn't feel three Jedi were directing Alpha Predator One. Taking them out was key to finally killing that thing, he knew that. No one else would understand.

No, if he wanted the Jedi dead then he would have to rely on himself. He was the only person here capable of doing that. Arch and Devo, they wouldn't last very long. They didn't understand the Jedi like he did. They hadn't fought beside them, they hadn't even really known them and they certainly hadn't had to fight one ever. When the Rebels got inside this complex, and with the help of their big angry mutant krayt dragon friend they most certainly would, the Jedi would be with them. It would be up to him, a lone clone, to take them down. No one else.

As soon as they landed he broke off from the main group and slipped away into the inner bowels of the complex. He didn't know if either Arch or Devo noticed his disappearance and he didn't really care. That probably sounded cruel, but it was the truth. He had a mission, not exactly a new one but it overrode everything else. Killing a Jedi, however, was not easy. Killing three by yourself was near impossible. Add on to that he was no longer young. He just wasn't much of a match for a Force User, not by himself anyway. He needed to gear up.

He found what he was looking for after a about half an hour of searching. In the security quarters, which all Stormtroopers now had access to, he found the main armory. Most of the guns had been taken, only the surplus remained. Fine by him, he'd take whatever there was left.

At the back of the room he located a number of high-powered blaster rifles, long ranged, scoped. He'd only need one, no sense in overloading himself. Not that he believed it would be much use against a Jedi, but there was always the chance of a lucky shot. He grabbed a number of grenades as well, deciding he'd use them as a last resort. He also found a spare Arc Caster, although again he doubted it would be really effective. All it was for was to wear the Jedi down, tire them out. Only thing he could do. He picked up some blaster pistols as well, just as backup in case things went wrong.

Then he found the real prize. Within a crate at the back of the room was a rotary blaster cannon, similar to the ones used back in the war. This would be the weapon that could break the Jedi, the gun that could take one down. Of course, it was easier when there were at least five of them against one. He'd have to play it smart if he hoped for the cannon to be effective.

As he picked up the rotary blaster from the crate, his arms struggled to hold it properly. It had been a long time since he had used one of these and he was not in his prime. These Jedi had years to train, while he hadn't seen any real action since the end of the war. The odds were against him here, but if there was any chance of survival he had to see this through.

"There you are, sir."

Kamo turned to see Arch staring at him from the doorway, sounding and looking rather confused. Kamo didn't say anything in response. He just hefted the rotary blaster over to a table to put it down and then he started gathering what he could into a carrying satchel for later. Arch approached him, still curious about the whole thing.

"You really think you're going to need all this?" Arch asked. "I mean, I know they say there's a pretty big Rebel Force out there but still."

"For what I'm fighting, I'm going to need it," Kamo stated bluntly.

"What you're fighting?" Arch said, perplexed by the choice of words. "What are you talking about? You mean the monster? That's kinda out of our hands at the moment, sir."

"He's not the problem," Kamo insisted through gritted teeth as he looked briefly at Arch.

The Scout Trooper was a bit put off the by the Clone's sudden shift in tone and mood. As Kamo started doing a system check on the rotary blaster, making sure it was in working condition, Arch approached him steadily. His concern was obvious, even through the helmet.

"Is everything okay, sir?" He asked tepidly.

"No," Kamo replied bluntly. "Nothing has been okay for awhile."

He wouldn't tell Arch anything. He didn't need to know, he couldn't. He wouldn't last five seconds against a Jedi. He wouldn't be able to protect him. At least with Alpha Predator One they were dealing with something that was indiscriminate. A creature that focused on the battle as a whole and rarely individuals. The Jedi were different. They up close, they were personal and they had abilities that made soldiers like Arch redundant. Besides, this was his mission, he couldn't bring him in on it. That wasn't how this worked.

"What's wrong?" Arch asked again. "You've been acting weird since we got out of that quarry. Haven't said a word to me or the LT. You were looking at that monster and you muttered something about following orders and then nothing."

Kamo stopped his work briefly, but did not speak or turn to Arch.

"Do you know something about that monster?" The Scout pressed. "You've been right about him so far. Command may not buy it, but I'll listen."

After a long silence, Kamo spoke at last.

"I did find something out," he informed him. "But it's something you can't help with."

"What do you mean I can't help?" Arch asked, sounding offended. "We're a team!"

"I'm sorry, but that's just how it is," Kamo repeated. "It's something I gotta do. I can't involve you. That's all I can say."

Arch still looked confused. He didn't say anything, but he didn't move. No doubt he had a ton of questions on his mind. Questions Kamo couldn't answer. All he could do was try to explain.

"Remember when you said you hadn't expected your first combat to be like this," he began to recall, turning to the scout and staring him down. "What did you expect when you joined up?"

"Well, adventure mostly," Arch admitted. "Serving the Galaxy, maintaining order, keeping the bad guys down."

"That's how I started too," Kamo morosely admitted. "Heroic aspirations, noble ideas. Difference is, I didn't have a choice. I never had one. I was bred to go to war, from day one. That was all that ever mattered. I never thought about what would happen when it was over. When the war was done and the soldiers they bred to fight it were no longer needed. I just went day by day, doing what I was told, expecting it would all be worth a damn, that I was doing something important. In the end, I did do something important and it's the one thing I can't really remember much about except that I did it."

Arch just stood perplexed, trying to figure out what the old soldier was trying to tell him. Kamo supposed he was being to cryptic. Like he suspected, Arch just didn't understand. He wasn't a clone, he didn't know.

"They gave us a bunch of promises when they made us," Kamo continued. "Motivation to keep fighting I guess. It seemed enough at first, but as time went on, their promises didn't seem to pan out like we wanted. Then we get ordered to take down the very people who commanded us. None of us even flinch, we just do it, because that's what good soldiers do. What do you get in return for that? For saving them from a conspiracy against them? Nothing."

"I remember," Arch tried to squeak out. "You all got discharged."

"We were thrown away, cast to the side, tossed into a box and forgotten," Kamo corrected him harshly. "We'd done their dirty work, we did it proudly. We were good soldiers, we followed orders. We did what had to be done, didn't hesitate. Hell, it was easy! I don't know why, but it was! And what's our reward for that kind of loyalty? We end up being forcibly ejected from the one job we were born to do and left alone to rot!"

Arch backed up slightly as Kamo's started shouting. The Clone caught himself and quickly calmed. He then asked another question.

"What do you know of the night the Jedi Temple on Coruscant was attacked by Republic Forces?" He asked.

"Well, you'd know more than me, sir," he admitted. "You were there."

"That's the thing, I don't know," Kamo explained plainly. "I only get flashes, brief images. I don't remember anything substantial. Just that I was there, that there were Jedi and I killed them because they were traitors. I don't remember how many, who or how. Something happened that night and I can't remember it for some reason. I don't even know how I feel about it! Does that sound normal to you?"

Arch shook his head.

"That's what the price of war is, kid," Kamo informed him. "I killed a bunch of people who were the guardians of peace in the Republic for thousands of years and I don't even know how I feel about it. I only know what they told me and I have to accept that. What I can't accept is being treated like garbage by the very people who made me do the thing I can't remember! But I'm still loyal to them, a good soldier who follows orders. You know why?"

"No," Arch admitted sadly. "I can't really say why, to be honest."

Kamo walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Because I have nowhere else to go," he sullenly informed him. "I never had a choice, Arch. I never had a chance to walk away from something bigger than myself. I'm a soldier, it's just what they made me to be. The hero they wanted, until they didn't need me anymore."

"I'm sorry, sir," Arch told him earnestly. "I... I didn't know that-"

"It ain't your fault, kid," Kamo told him sadly, as he took his hand off his shoulder. "You're not the one who needs to apologize."

Kamo went for the door, leaving Arch standing there. The scout did not go after him. The Clone decided to leave him with a parting bit of advice.

"Don't try to become a hero, Arch," he warned him. "It's never worth it in the end. There's no reward, there's no glory. Just a few worthless bits of metal they pin to you and memories you don't want to dwell on."

And some you couldn't, he would've added. He suspected Arch already knew that though. Without another word, he left the Scout behind and walked off into the facility. He'd wait for his moment in the dark, wait for the Jedi to come for him. And then, he would end what he started all those years ago. Only this time, he would feel something he could remember.

* * *

"It sounds like a real wild ride," Sabine told Ezra, a bit of envy in her voice as she spoke. "I'm trying to picture it in my head, but my imagination probably doesn't do it justice."

"It was pretty trippy," Ezra admitted, leaning slightly back in the chair across the table. "I've never gone that deep into an animal's mind before."

Ezra had finished regaling Sabine with his experience of being inside the mind of the creature now known as Godzilla. They had been in the _Ghost's _central quarters sitting at the holotable for a few solid hours now going over it all. It wasn't like there was much else to do while they waited to get to the Imperial Science Complex. Besides, Ezra still needed to process everything that had happened.

He tried not to embellish the events too much, if only because he knew Sabine wouldn't buy it. Saying he was the sole reason for the success of the whole negotiation was just something she wouldn't believe. Besides, she just wanted THE details of what he saw, not what he, Kanan or Ahsoka had done. She even had an open sketchbook, trying to put down her best interpretation of the images Ezra tried to describe.

The thing was though, it was difficult. He certainly remembered the conversation, or what passed for one anyway. He definitely remembered the weird landscape to a degree. It was the images and colors and other things that flashed before him that were more difficult to discern or recall. Information overload perhaps, his mind couldn't retain everything of the experience. Like details of a dream passing from your mind or being forgotten when you wake up.

What little he could relay to Sabine, however, was more than enough to get her fascinated. Sure, she was just using him to get inspiration for her next bit of artwork, but Ezra would take any opportunity he had to get into a conversation with her. Maybe he'd even convince her he had a cultured side for once.

"I wish I could've seen it," Sabine explained as she sketched an image of the mindscape's jungle. "I've used things like dreams to inspire me before, but I've thought about something like this. How do animals see us? How does nature view us? What are their dreams like?"

"Well he's not really an animal," Ezra hesitantly informed her. "I mean he is, but he's more than that I think. When I was inside, it felt like I was communing with nature itself."

"He does have the word 'God' in his name," Sabine noted. "Not to mention his pretty defiant attitude. Seems like he has a bit of an ego."

"Maybe, but there's a reason he isn't very humble," Ezra thoughtfully continued. "After surviving so long like he has, against near impossible odds, it's hard to claim he hasn't earned that ego. To be honest, I think it's more self-confidence. He knows the kind of power he wields and refuses to hide it."

Sabine finished up her little sketch for the moment and turned her full attention to Ezra.

"You know what I'm still wrapping my head around?" She asked inquisitively. "The fact he's from another planet, another Galaxy even. That he was such a huge threat to the people of that world, that they got desperate enough to try something crazy. They made a weapon so powerful it actually shot him who knows how far out into space and deposited him right here! And he survived that kind of experience. That's insane."

"His story, not mine," Ezra said defensively. "But yeah, it does sound like he made a real nuisance of himself over there. He certainly doesn't feel sorry about it either."

"He's not exactly your average sentient," Sabine argued formally. "His sense of morality may in fact be completely different from ours. Like, beyond our ability to understand. I will admit though, just thinking how many people he's probably killed scares me a little."

Ezra felt the same way. While Godzilla didn't harbor any particular joy over what he had done, he had no regrets. His rage wasn't fueled by a hatred for humans, but anger still fed him. There was pity, but no empathy. Like Sabine suggested, they could hardly judge a creature who's sense of right and wrong was separate from their own. But the thoughts currently swimming in Ezra's mind concerning these facts were not so easily banished.

"He's thinks in terms of survival mostly," Ezra said thoughtfully. "He attacks those who hurt him, people who are scared of him. He's filled with thoughts of revenge, subsists on violence, but that's just skin deep. I could sense more."

"Like what?" Sabine asked, sounding genuinely interested.

"Loss, pain," Ezra started to list off. "And I could feel a more noble desire too. Those images he showed us, they dragged up a sense of fondness of times, remembrance."

Sabine raised an eyebrow at that.

"Are you saying the big grey lizard was getting nostalgic?" She asked, trying to stifle a bit of a laugh. "He's... homesick?"

"However much it changed, he was still torn away from his home," Ezra explained wistfully. "I think beneath all the anger over what the people of that world did to him, there was an undercurrent. He saw an abuse of power, saw injustice, potential danger to his home. He wanted to stop it all, change things. He did it in the wrong way, maybe, but there was more to it than just payback."

"Didn't he technically say that's all it was about though?" Sabine asked, quickly adding. "And when I use the word 'say' I'm using it in a figurative term of course. I don't think that weird pseudo-telepathy counts as talking."

Ezra didn't really have an actual answer, just feelings lingering from the vision. He could only shrug at the question and offer his best guess.

"I'm just saying I felt there was a part of him that is a defender," he elaborated best he could. "A protective instinct. Maybe he won't admit it, but it's there."

Sabine eyed him curiously, trying to figure out where this little talk was headed.

"He did agree to help us," Sabine relented. "All that stuff about doing it for himself could just be a cover. A way to keep up a tough guy act. You could ask Kanan or Ahsoka about it. Maybe they felt it too."

"I don't know," Ezra sighed dismally as he stared off to the side. "All those thought waves weren't exact science. Maybe I'm just reading too much into it."

Sabine suddenly leaned in across the table, forcing Ezra to bring his head back up to her. There was a small smile across her face, a comforting and warm one.

"I'm big on art interpretation," she began simply. "Trust me on this, Ezra. You can never read too much into something or someone. People aren't simple creatures, they have various shades and colors to them. I doubt giant monsters are in any way less complicated."

That got a chuckle out of Ezra, pulling him out of his funk. She was right, Kanan always told him a Jedi has to trust his senses and feelings. And right now, his senses were telling him that Godzilla, undoubtedly a big angry jerk of a lizard, was more than he let on. He contemplated the idea of talking to Kanan about it or perhaps even Ahsoka. She'd probably be more receptive to the idea, she had come up with the idea to form an alliance with him after all. However, the thought would have to wait as Hera's voice came over the _Ghost's_ intercom.

"_We're coming up on the target," _she announced. _"Setting down near Ahsoka's Juggernaut in the staging area. She says we'll have a good view of our new friend's assault from there."_

It was finally time. After days of planning and hard fought battles, they were nearing the final objective. Everything now hinged on how much damage Godzilla could do to the Imperials. With any luck, he'd do the entire job for them. Needless to say, Ezra was hoping for some decent front row seats to the action. Whatever was about to unfold, he didn't want to miss a second of it.

* * *

The giant trees that had covered Godzilla's approach slightly became smaller and smaller with every step. Soon, he could see a plain where they grew no more and blackened cracked volcanic earth covered the ground he finally beheld the enemy stronghold, he suddenly realized why the Rebels had been so quick to beg for his assistance. Before him in the distance, beneath the shadow of a large fire-spewing volcano, stood something akin to a small city with large buildings and sky-piercing towers. He could feel energy sources within fueling the massive complex which no doubt housed many thousands of workers. All of this for one weapon? Now he was curious as to what this thing was.

Upon second glance, he determined a possible answer as to what exactly he was after. Lined up along the outer perimeter, staring him down along a large volcanic plain of rock, was a huge herd of mechanical beasts preparing for his arrival. Godzilla turned his head in slight confusion. Of all the mechanized monstrosities he had faced, these things were most bizarre. Godzilla was smart enough to not presume they weren't dangerous though. All giant machines were dangerous and these were the largest weapons this Empire had thrown at him so far. At least he thought they were, until he turned his eyes skyward upon hearing a sound above.

Slowly descending from the clouds, three large triangular ships emerged. Godzilla had encountered flying battleships before, during the initial phase of his fellow kaiju being rounded up and deposited on Monster Island. Those things had ridiculous looking drills on them though. These flying ships were streamlined and militaristic to the core, lacking any such digging implement on their noses. Perhaps the Empire did not share the same weird fascination with that tool that his humans had. He suspected these vessels would be just as well armed as any of the flying battleships from home though.

With such weapons arrayed against him, Godzilla suspected he'd finally have a proper challenge to contend with. Good, he had been worried this would be boring.

He did not expect much help from the sentients who had tried to make peace with him though. They were opportunistic and petty. They felt their cause more just than others. However, their goals did somewhat align and therefore he suspected they told the truth when they claimed they would leave when this was over. Their fight was with this Empire, not him. No sense in antagonizing them when they would soon no longer be a problem. Knowing their kind though, they'd still make him do most of the work.

That didn't really concern him too much though. He had made it clear he would not be their tool in this endeavor, that this was purely out of the necessity of survival. They were benefiting from his actions, not the other way around. As long as they respected that, everything would be fine.

Of course, he did question whether he was being a bit too broad in his low opinion. The three who had talked to him did not seem like others of their kind. They were strange compared to most of their ilk. The very fact they attempted to speak first rather than attack was interesting. The youngest among them was the least confrontational and the most genuine of the three. He earnestly asked for help, while the other two were either openly hostile or concerned with making deals. The child even seemed to understand why he had refused at the start. If nothing else, that surprise made going along with this plan for the moment at least worth attempting.

In fact, the three that spoke to him shared some commonalities. Their feelings of compassion before force, life before death and diplomacy before aggression were all easily readable. They almost sounded and felt like members of Mothra's acolytes, the Natives who treated her like a God. To find like-minded creatures like those humans so far away from her influence was astounding. Another reason to at least give them the benefit of the doubt for the moment.

Regardless, as far as he was concerned, this little war was another petty squabble playing out on another planet. He'd seen little groups like these Rebels before, some of them had even tried to use others of Godzilla's kind against him. Now they expected him to do the same, but he would not to be directed like a puppet. He'd kill this Empire his way, along with their weapon.

It would take time for the ships to get into range, leaving him with an opportunity to determine the best way to destroy the ground forces. More importantly, they'd be reluctant to fire when he was in the middle of these massive walking tanks. Besides, he didn't need to kill all of them. Just enough to satisfy those Rebels lying in wait. Then he'd let them distract the remainder and attack the facility proper where he would route out and destroy the Empire's weapon. After that, this planet would be his.

With a mighty roar, Godzilla waded into the field of combat, fury in his eyes. It was time to finally end this farce and throw these white-clad soldiers off his world.

* * *

Sakal now finally stood staring directly at the enemy they had been fighting for the past few days. In person, the giant lizard was a lot more intimidating than he first pictured him. He watched through the Command Center's glass windows as the beast ran onto the volcanic plain, shrieking like mad in an angered vicious battlecry.

Sakal's resolve did not waver in the slightest. He had the firepower to blow this monster back into the hole it crawled out of now. It's bizarre, inhuman cries would not break him. It was time to put this menace down for good.

"Klusto," Sakal called to his Commander. "Order the AT-ATs forward, delta attack formation. AT-MPs are to offer support, but are to remain at the back of the attack column. We will need them later when the Rebels assault the base."

"Yes, sir," Klusto saluted. "Also, the Star Destroyer battlegroup is closing in our position. Their arrival is imminent. I've already relayed your orders for them to stay away from the main facility. If Alpha Predator One does manage to somehow shoot one down, we won't have to worry about them crashing on us."

"Good, but that won't happen," Sakal assured him. "The shields will protect them from the atomic ray and that dumb beast can't fly. Once they have a clear shot, they can bombard the big lizard until there's barely anything left of the corpse."

By now the AT-ATs were already closing on their target. Sakal turned back to see Darth Vader already watching the proceedings. He quickly turned away before the Dark Lord could see him. Reminded of the stakes of the battle at hand, he finally gave the order.

"All AT-ATs, engage target at will," he ordered. "Annihilate Alpha Predator One!"

Every AT-AT then started opening fire all at once. The final battle had begun.

* * *

Blazing hot lasers slammed into Godzilla as he charged forward. They exploded against his hide, searing his scales. Godzilla kept charging though, fighting through the pain. He already had his sights set on one of the lead walkers, already traversing ahead of the pack. Its guns continued to bombard the rampaging lizard as he pushed forward, hitting him in the head and trying to blind him. Godzilla didn't need sight to destroy this machine though, he just needed speed.

At the apex of his charge, Godzilla lifted one of his legs and slammed it into the cockpit of the AT-AT. The running kick knocked the machine's head back, the full force of the blow throwing the machine off balance. As it crashed down onto its side, Godzilla stomped his foot straight through the body of the walker. The resulting explosion blinded the giant lizard slightly, but he shook the blast off.

As smoke billowed around his head, he looked out to see more of the walkers closing in. They started to encircle him, firing from all angles. The bulk of their forces blocked his path to the facility, while the those on the flank kept raining their shots down upon him. He couldn't risk leaving his backside open to these overgrown war horses, he needed to thin their ranks before attacking the Empire's facility proper.

He stomped away from the wreckage of the first walker and turned his gaze to one of the AT-ATs on his flank. He kept his mouth closed, charged his atomic breath and then fired it directly at the cockpit. The blast tore into the head of the machine, setting the cockpit on fire. It kept walking forward for awhile longer, it's head ablaze, before tumbling forward down to the ground.

But before Godzilla could fire another blast, the AT-ATs raked lasers across his side and up towards his head. Roaring in pain and taken by surprise, the great monster titan dropped to ground. He used his claws to stop his descent and turned his back towards the bulk of the incoming fire. Laser bolts ripped into his back and he growled in anger. He had left himself open to attack just then, gave them an opening. He needed to disrupt their range of vision somehow.

He charged his atomic breath again, his head still pointed down to the ground. Then he pulled himself up, twisted around violently and fired a sweeping blast across the ground. The volcanic rock was churned up by the raging beam, as fire exploded up in the wake of the atomic ray. A wall of flames and smoke now blocked the view of several walkers.

The war machines had lost their target, but Godzilla hadn't lost them. He watched a figure through the flames slowly move forward, braving the infernal wall. As the walker parted through the fire though, their cockpit was filled with a big grey reptilian claw. The pilots screamed as the claws ripped into the head of the machine tore off the lower jaw.

Godzilla pushed the broken machine over onto its side, just as he heard another of the AT-ATs lurching forward. The giant turned, lifted his tail and then slammed it down on the cockpit of the walker as it emerged. The strike was powerful enough to decapitate the machine, the head tumbling down to the ground. The walker toppled over after it, both crashing into the ground in a twisted heap.

However, as Godzilla had been dealing with him, another Walker emerged just beside him. It fired several blasts into his front as he was turned away. The shots forced Godzilla to stumble backwards, but it did not make him fall. In a rage, Godzilla turned violently again, his tail aimed low towards the walker's legs. The strike broke the machine's right front knee joint and caused it to trip over itself. The AT-AT smashed head first into the volcanic rock and Godzilla roared in victory at it's demise.

But more walkers were braving the fire wall. The Empire was not lacking in courage it seemed, at least so long as they had their precious war machines to protect them. No matter, he'd take as many on as he could. He looked briefly to sky, tracking the progress of the incoming flying ships. They were closing fast, but moving in a position far to the right of the complex. A strategy motivated by fear no doubt, Godzilla had seen it before. The flying ships from home always tried to steer clear of populated areas when attacking. It showed that they weren't as confident in their weapons as they appeared, for the feared the possibility of failure. Whereas Godzilla feared nothing.

However, he also spotted something else in the sky, coming in from a different direction. They were smaller, but his keen eyes could spot them easily. They weren't the Empire's flying machines though, they were something else. A fact confirmed when a few of the airborne craft split off and dived towards one of the AT-ATs moving to engage him. They dropped a few bombs from their bellies, ripping open the backside before demolishing the cockpit head. The burning wreckage collapsed to the ground shortly afterwards.

So the Rebels were helping out after all. Today was full of surprises indeed for Godzilla. Well, might as well let them engage in their baser instincts. No sense in him having all the fun and there were plenty more Imperial Walkers to destroy.

* * *

Through the macrobinoculars Ahsoka saw Anglyph's bombers do their job perfectly. Yes, it was only one walker, but it was one less that Godzilla had to concern himself with. It was all part of the plan. The Raiders and other air assets would help thin the herd a little. Godzilla was taking up the core attention of the Imperials for now, giving them a chance to strike their own blows to the enemy's defenses. She didn't know if Godzilla would appreciate the help, but he didn't seem to mind it.

She was concerned about the approaching Star Destroyers though. They had a lot of firepower backing them up. She imagined they wouldn't bring their full wrath down onto their giant grey friend so long as their allies were in the way, at least not for awhile. The Empire was always quick to sacrifice the lives of their soldiers for victory, especially if things were going badly.

"How long do we wait until we move in?" Kanan asked, standing beside her with the rest of the _Ghost _crew. "He's taking his sweet time in destroying the main defenses."

"I don't think our friend is very concerned with timetables," Ahsoka informed him. "Besides, he still has a lot of AT-ATs to kill. Until both they and the main defenses are down we'll be risking a gauntlet."

"Is there anyway we can at least nudge him in the right direction?" Kanan asked.

"You mean issue orders to him," she responded, quickly discerning the true nature of his question. "Unless you want to risk angering him, I don't think that's a good idea."

She understood Kanan's concerns, however. The quicker they could get inside, the better off they'd be. She just couldn't see anyway to direct Godzilla without him seeing it as an attempt to control him. The big lizard had made it very clear he was against that.

"What if we play to his aggression?" Hera suggested. "We've seen how often he's exploited weaknesses in the Imperial Forces. If we give him an opportunity to strike he'll more than likely go for it."

"We could have the Hailfire droids open fire on the main defenses," Ahsoka suggested. "At this range it won't be very accurate, but a few of the missiles should find their targets. Godzilla could then be convinced to hit the facility directly if he sees it under fire."

"Shouldn't we be just as concerned with the Star Destroyers that are moving in?" Sabine asked suddenly. "They're going to make any attack pretty hard, even if all the AT-ATs and guns defending the facility are knocked out."

Another fair point, one Ahsoka had already considered herself.

"We'll need to take them out if any assault is to be successful," she admitted. "If we're going to direct Godzilla's attention in any form, that should be our prime directive. For now we'll just launch a Hailfire volley. The Star Destroyers are not really in range to do much harm for the moment."

"Our fighters are going to need all the help they can get to deal with them when that moment does come though," Hera cautioned. "That and convincing our giant friend there to coordinate with us is going to be a challenge. I should head up in the _Ghost_, I'll be of more help up there anyway. Maybe together me and Moira can figure something out."

"You'll need gunners," Kanan told her. "And some of us will need to stay and prepare for the ground attack."

"Chopper can take over the rear turret," Hera suggested. "Sabine still has that jetpack she stole-"

"Liberated," the Mandalorian girl was quick to correct.

Hera rolled her eyes.

"Fine, liberated," Hera relented. "I can take her into the heat of the battle myself when it's time and meet up with all of you at main facility."

"I'd feel about this if you had an extra hand," Kanan informed her. "You'd have full coverage that way."

"I agree," Ahsoka concurred. "I have just the person in mind. Well, person being operative term."

Ahsoka looked over her shoulder to see Moira's grungy, old battledroid working on anti-vehicle skiff in need of some repair. He was unscrewing a latch when it suddenly opened and a flood of engine fluid spewed in his face. Ahsoka chuckled slightly at the scene. Despite being as accident prone as all of his metal brethren, Jetty was still more competent than most as the fight in orbit had proven. Besides, Moira had put him at her disposal for the coming fight. No sense in wasting him on mechanical duty when the Raiders could use him the coming fight more.

"Hey, Jetty," Ahsoka shouted over to him. "I got a new job for you. Less engine grease involved in this one."

The battledroid, still covered in oil and gunk from the skiff, just lifted his arm and gave a thumbs up.

"Roger, roger."

* * *

The battlements of the science complex were lined with turbolasers and missile launchers. AT-MPs patrolled around the perimeter, while Stormtroopers held position on the walls. All guns were trained towards Alpha Predator One. They fired every now and again, but to little or no effect. The monster was too busy with the AT-ATs to bother with them right now. Everything they fired just seemed to bounce off. They weren't a threat to him, a fact that wasn't really comforting.

Manning a turbolaser position, Arch felt completely helpless in the face of the monstrosity before them. Once more, he could do nothing as battle waged in front of his eyes. An AT-AT seemingly charged into the giant reptile from the side. The metal head of the walker rammed against the creature's upper leg. The beast roared and turned towards the attack. He brought up both his fists and brought them down on the walker repeatedly. Then he grabbed the machine by its sides and toppled it to the ground. Then, the giant creature raised his foot and finally stomped on the AT-AT's head.

If there was any kind of bright side it was that the Walkers seemed to give Alpha Predator One greater pause. At least more so than anything else they had tried. He was fighting more defensively, reacting to attacks, taking hits that appeared to hurt him. If nothing else, the AT-ATs were wearing him down. He couldn't shake the feeling of futility though, like this was just delaying the inevitable.

Maybe it was just his nerves unraveling after getting beaten by this thing so many times. Perhaps it was because he knew the Rebels would be attacking regardless of this battle's outcome. He had never faced real Rebels before, he was a bit worried about that. He didn't even know they were organized enough to build an army. In reality though, his real concern probably stemmed from Kamo's words. How heroics were for naught, how he had been forgotten and the memories he couldn't remember haunting him as much as those he did recall.

It was that last bit that felt most troublesome. Mainly because it held a twinge of truth. He didn't know what this giant city-like complex was for. All he knew was it had to be the sole reason anyone was out here. He had heard of it before all this of course, but he had never really been here. Most Troopers hadn't, it was off limits to all but a select few.

Now he and his fellow soldiers were standing here, guarding the gates as it were, ready to die protecting whatever lay inside and he still didn't know what it was for. It was disturbing to him, partly because it felt wrong not to know what the point of a battle was. However, it was mostly because he realized he hadn't thought much about that until he had spoke with Kamo just awhile ago.

What were they fighting to save in this place? What was so valuable that every Trooper had been called in to defend this facility? Why were the Rebels so keen to get their hands on whatever was inside? How did they even find out about it and why were they apparently more informed than him? It all just felt so wrong all of a sudden. The fact he was only asking these questions now just made him feel worse. They were hiding something in here though, that was the ultimate point. Arch felt he and every other trooper deserved to know what that something was now.

He wasn't about to ask those questions aloud though. Mostly because he suspected at best he wouldn't get an answer, at worst he'd probably get put in the brig for insubordination. Then again, with how things were going, they'd probably stick him in a walker and send him off to kill the big rampaging reptile alone.

Arch's thoughts continued to swim in his head, his eyes locked on the Alpha Predator One as the battle against the walkers waged. The only thing that snapped him out of the stupor was the sound of something whistling through the air. He looked up and saw several arching fiery streaks speeding across the sky. They then started to plummet to the earth, towards the defensive line, towards him!

He moved before the alert sounded, loudspeakers screaming at Troopers to run for cover. Arch quickly dashed into a small alcove and clamped his arms over his head. Explosions erupted across the defenses around the perimeter, creating huge balls of fire. Arch could feel the quaking in his boots as whatever was hitting them crashed down upon them. He could hear a few Troopers' death screams as the fire swallowed them up.

When it was over, he looked out to see what had been damaged. Surprisingly, although there were a number of casualties and destroyed turrets, the bulk of the attack didn't land directly on their lines. No, the majority of the shells or missiles, whatever hit them, apparently landed further ahead. He could tell by the fact at least one AT-AT nearby had been utterly demolished by the barrage. Arch's position had just been on the edge of the attack's area of effect, shots that went wide. The real target had been the walkers, and the barrage had scored at least one as far as Arch could tell.

There was only one group currently in the area he figured would do that and he knew why. The Rebels were going out of their way to help even the odds more than they thought. They were trying to take out a few walkers for Alpha Predator One. More than likely so the big lizard would finally turn his attention to them and blow a hole wide enough for the Rebels to storm the facility.

Now, more than ever, Arch really wanted to know what was so damn important that these raiding insurgents would team up with a monster to get to.

* * *

Klusto rushed over from his station towards Sakal. The General was so transfixed by the holographic images of the battle on the strategic table that he didn't notice the Commander's approach. He didn't like what he was seeing, as more and more AT-ATs vanished from the table one after the other. Alpha Predator One was holding his own certainly. Klusto finally got his attention by tapping his arm slightly.

"Sir," he began cautiously. "We've analyzed the barrage that hit our lines. Our archives suggest the pattern was similar to the Hailfire Droids of the Clone Wars. It's likely the Rebels have appropriated other such war machines from that conflict. Significantly modified of course, Hailfire Droids didn't have nearly that great a range before."

"Not very accurate at least," Sakal noted. "Still deadly though. Worse yet, they're using it to help their lizard friend. Same as those starfighters we're getting reports of."

Sakal looked back briefly at Lord Vader and noticed he was glaring at him. He knew, yes, he knew things weren't going well. Sakal shook the death stare off and returned to work.

"Are the Star Destroyers in position?" He asked Klusto.

"Almost, sir," the Commander promised. "But with the monster so close to the Walkers there is no guarantee they'll be able to avoid friendly fire."

"Tell them they'll have to risk it," Sakal ordered briskly, his agitation growing. "And have them send out what fighters they can to deal with those Rebel flyers helping Alpha Predator One. I want them gone, now! The AT-ATs are to push forward with their assault on the monster and ignore all other threats. Have them engage three at a time, Gamma Formation. He can only react to one Walker at a time, we need to use that to our advantage."

Klusto saluted and headed off to relay the orders. Sakal in the meantime tightened his grip along the edge of the strategic table and gritted his teeth. He glared at the green dot that represented Alpha Predator One's position.

"What's it going to take to kill you?" He growled in a low guttural voice.

* * *

After the barrage hit, Moira decided she wasn't about the let the Imperials get off that easy. In a diving strafe run, she raced down from the clouds and opened up on the perimeter defenses while they were still reeling. She could only hit a small section, but at least it would be a few less Imps to deal with later. Her ARC's lasers ravaged the still reeling section of the perimeter. She led her shots towards a still intact turret and lay into it. When it exploded, Moira peeled off from her attack run.

That was when she spotted an AT-MP taking aim at her as she turned. She rolled the ARC-170 to the side as a missile rocketed out, just barely missing her. She then re-acquired the walker and let loose with a torrent of laser bolts, ripping into one of the missile pods. The shots ignited one of the missiles in their tubes and caused an explosion that ripped straight through the war machine's head. As it toppled to the ground, Moira pulled up back into the sky.

As she flew up, Moira took in the sight of a slightly more eye-catching display. Godzilla had just used his tail to knock the legs out from under one AT-AT. As it was toppling, the monster was already bitting into the neck of another Walker and wrenching the cockpit head away from the giant war machine. The beastly titan lizard then tossed the decapitated head a few hundred yards through the air only to crash into another AT-AT. The head embedded itself into the top of the Walker's back, whereas the force of the collision unbalanced the machine and caused it to fall onto its side.

"_Such raw primal power,"_ Gorossk's voice declared through the radio. _"Relentless in the pursuit of its prey, undaunted by the odds against it, utterly fearless. It is an Apex Predator unlike any other."_

"I really hope that praise isn't a precursor to a sudden desire to hunt it down for sport," Moira cautioned crassly. "Cause if it is, you're on your own. There's no blaster big enough for that thing in existence."

"_I'm just admiring another master hunter, boss,"_ Gorossk assured her._ "There's no rule against that. Besides, I have more fun watching others fail to kill him so far. I'd rather not join in their error."_

That was a load off Moira's mind. She really didn't want to have to drag the Trandoshan away from a fight they had no real stake in, especially when it would only help the Empire as far as she was concerned. She had to admit though, he was right about their giant friend. It was a spectacle to watch him this Godzilla wreak havoc. She supposed that was relative though, considering the Stormtroopers definitely didn't feel that way right now. She didn't get to watch much more of the battle below though, as another of her team mates interrupted her.

"_Moira, my radar screen is picking up a lot of incoming contacts,"_ Ro warned suddenly.

Moira turned to her own screen and soon saw it fill up with red dots herself. She looked towards the direction they were approaching to see one of the Star Destroyers in the distance, edging closer to the battlefield. Looking harder, she saw several black dots speeding towards her as well.

"The Empire is finally sending in their own air support, team," she warned them all. "We want control of the skies now, we gotta earn it."

"_Is it too much to hope all those TIEs are after the Gorossk's angry cousin down below?"_ Ro asked tepidly.

Moira didn't bother to reply, the answer was more than obvious when the TIEs screamed in front of their formation and started opening fire. They weren't here to engage in a suicide run on a monster that had beaten them off without even trying before. No, these Imps wanted a target they knew they could kill. Moira banked hard on the stick and pulled out of onrush of TIEs. A few of their number broke off and chased after her.

"All wings, break and take evasive action," she ordered as green bolts sped by her window. "Priority one is protecting the Y-Wings. Stay away from the Star Destroyer as it approaches, we do not need more enemy fire than we can handle right now."

One of the shots then hit Moira's engines, the shockwave of which shuddered the cockpit. Turning back briefly, she spotted the pair of fighters slinking behind her tail. Thinking quickly, she suddenly reduced speed so that her craft went tumbling backwards. The TIEs parted away, probably thinking she had lost power completely. But when she was behind them, she kicked the engines back into full gear, righted her craft and took aim at her attackers. A blaze of red bolts cut into the Imps, causing them to fall from the sky for several feet before their fuel cells ignited and exploded.

"Heh, stupid Imps," Moira laughed.

Her laughter was stymied by a new pair of TIEs, descending from above out of the aurora illuminated multicolored sky. They closed in on her and she tried to break away, but before she could, the two TIEs exploded from laser fire themselves. She looked around to see which one of her squadron mates she now owed a drink for saving her behind and instead saw something else. Now swooping past her came a grey hexagonal ship, one she remembered seeing earlier.

"_Hey there, Raider Lead,"_ came a voice over the radio. _"Hope we didn't steal a kill from you just now."_

"Not at all, Hera," Moira chuckled back at the twi'lek. "Thanks for clearing my skies. You picked a hell of a time to show up though, considering the Destroyers are moving in."

"_We probably would've been up sooner," Hera explained, "but we we're helping an additional crewmate with the gunnery controls."_

Before Moira could inquire who she meant, the answer spoke up for her.

"_Greetings, ma'am,"_ came the electronic high tempo voice of a certain battledroid. _"Don't worry, I'll buff out that engine of yours when we land."_

"Jetty?" Moira responded in surprise. "What are you doing on the _Ghost_?"

"_On top turret duty, ma'am,"_ the droid answered diligently. _"Trying to ease into it. Been awhile since I shot anything."_

It had been awhile, Jetty had only ever worked on other machines since he came back online. Moira had never even considered giving him a gun, let alone putting him in a fighter bomber. Although she had good reason in doing so.

"Hera, you should know," she began to warn. "When I rebuilt Jetty I pretty much reprogrammed him from scratch. I rewrote and replaced all his original combat subroutines with engineering ones. You sure you want him in a turret right now?"

"_Chopper is not primarily programmed for combat either and he does just fine,"_ Hera assured her. _"Besides, we got bigger problems now. I'm seeing more squadrons of TIEs coming in."_

Moira looked at her own display and soon saw a number of dots approaching them from behind.

"_Likely a swarming pattern,"_ Jetty warned. _"Take us from top and below."_

"Looks like I'll need the extra guns then," Moira determined succinctly. "I'll fly wingman, keep them off you. You're the biggest target in the sky right now. They may think you're another bomber out for their walkers."

"_Well if we're lucky we won't disappoint them,"_ Hera declared. _"Got your back, Raider Lead!"_

The two craft turned into the incoming TIEs, coming at them from the sides of their swarm pattern. The _Ghost's_ various guns opened up on the Imperial pilots as they tried to adjust their courses. The red laser blasts cut down several of the TIEs as their formation broke apart. Moira managed to hit a close to equal number of TIEs as she flew along the lower section of the formation. Between the two of them, the Imperial numbers were halved sufficiently. The remainder though quickly turned around and attacked once more. Moira saw Jetty's turret fire a blaze of shots above wildly. The droid was wide in his targeting but he managed to score a hit on one TIE's wing and force the other to peel off. Maybe he hadn't entirely lost his combat skill after all.

More enemy fighters soon joined the fray though, aggressively speeding towards Moira and the _Ghost_. Normally, Moira would just reconnect with her squadron for backup. The problem was the TIEs had cut her off from them and her team looked to be having problems of her own. In the distance she could see a number of dots engaged in a furious mid-air melee. They needed another strategy to get this fresh wave of fighters off of them before they could reconvene with the other Raiders.

"I say we take this fight lower to the deck," Moira suggested. "Imps aren't nearly as skilled pilots when they have to worry about hitting stuff. We can work our way back to my squadron when they're thinned out."

"_Let's just steer clear of the big brawl if we can,"_ Hera cautioned. _"Last thing we need is getting caught between the big lizard and the walkers while being chased."_

Once again, Moira dived down closer to the ground below. Some of the fighter squadron broke off to chase her while others went after Hera's ship. The tail gun on the _Ghost_ let off a few blasts as it fled. A direct hit destroyed a pursuing TIE that got too close to the vessel's backside. Moira suddenly wished she had a rear gun on her own ship as she soon found more TIEs hot on her tail.

Moira rolled her ARC left and right, her craft cresting just a few feet above the ground at this point. The field was littered with the remains of a number of AT-ATs, their wreckage still burning from their brief battles mere moments ago. She darted through the broken war machines, turning and rolling past them. The TIEs on her tail kept pace with her regardless, blasting away at her as she fled from them. One or two clipped a wing on a sharp turn, smashing into the backside of a smoldering hulk of dead AT-AT, but it wasn't enough to take them all out.

Then she saw it, an AT-AT with a hole burned square through its side. One of Godzilla's fresh kills from the looks of it too. Moira aimed for the tunnel, boosting the afterburners. As she passed clean through it to the other side, she turned the ARC around. Some of the TIEs, still in close pursuit, followed her through the tunnel, others just flew over it. Not as many as she liked, but enough. She let loose two missiles and let them slam into the hole. The remains of the broken AT-AT erupted in a fireball, destroying all within as well as those not fast enough to avoid the collapsing of the machine's seconds later.

Moira peeled off before she got too close to the remaining TIEs who hadn't tried to follow her every move. She darted back towards the gauntlet of dead AT-ATs, but the pilots who remained were the better trained ones it seemed. They held back, trying to gauge her movements. The upside of course being they didn't fire as many shots at her anymore since they never had a clear target. She couldn't keep away forever though, so she decided on another risky move.

She made a beeline for the center of the ground war, Godzilla himself. The titanic reptile was currently engaged with another AT-AT, who was doing his best to keep at a distance. The big machine was strafing the big monster, instead of attacking head-on. Two of it's compatriots were doing the same. Problematic for the big lizard, an opportunity for Moira.

She flew towards the legs of the nearest AT-AT, the TIEs still following. She raced through the legs as they stomped about the field. The pilots of the giant machine were too busy with Godzilla to notice her old fighter. The TIEs tried to match her moves, darting around the walkers' legs best they could as Moira flew beneath all three in rapid succession. Some accidentally crashed into the legs when the walkers moved where they didn't anticipate, but most managed to weather the Raider's maneuvers.

"Pretty good flying for a bunch of Imps," she admitted. "But I still got one more trick up my sleeve."

She flew towards Godzilla now, specifically his tail. It was lashing about in the air rapidly and Moira suspected he was about to use it for another swipe at his attackers. Moira raced towards it just as the tail lifted violently and swished to the right. She pulled the stick hard towards the left, towards Godzilla's back. Three TIEs were unable to do the same, crashing into the tail as it slashed through the air. The monster's attack managed to break one of the knee joints for an AT-AT as well. It fell to the ground flat on its face.

Moira now raced up along the spiky back of the reptile, speeding towards the head. There were still two more TIEs on her tail, and they weren't about to let her escape. When she reached open sky, past Godzilla's massive head, they unleashed every green laser bolt they had been saving. Moira had dive quick just to get away, passing by the big monster's eye. She could've sworn she saw the beast's pupil move in her direction, watching her descend. She quickly kicked in her afterburners and leveled off on the stick. Her TIE pursuers followed, but only for a short while. A sudden gigantic hand rose up and swatted them from the sky like bugs, removing the last of her attackers.

Moira wasn't sure if she should be grateful that Godzilla saw the TIEs as an enemy or lucky that she was able to get away from his grasp in time. Either way, she soon saw a more pressing concern. The _Ghost_ was just a few feet in front of her, still being harassed by a few TIEs. With her tail gone, Moira darted towards the beleaguered ship. She kept an eye on the top turret, where she remembered Jetty was, as saw it haphazardly blast apart one of the TIEs. He was doing well, but that didn't mean he and Hera didn't need some assistance.

She moved in, buzzing around the _Ghost_, flying under and around the ship. She locked onto the TIEs and fired a blaze of hot laser down their throats. As she turned back for another pass, she saw Hera was already using the slightly clearer skies to her advantage. She pulled a tight loop with her ship, faster and harder than one would expect with a vessel that size. As Jetty's turret continued to fire at the TIEs now below him, Hera came around on their back sides. Her main guns easily cut down the stunned Imperial pilots still scrambling to figure out what had just happened.

When it was all clear, Hera joined Moira along her wing. The Raider Leader was, herself, still a bit stunned.

"That was a killer move," Moira reasoned. "How'd you pull that off?"

"_Besides this thing being heavily modified,"_ Hera began, sounding rather proud. _"You just gotta know how to talk to her sometimes."_

"Is there any way I can steal you away from Fulcrum when this job is done?" Moira was quick to ask in follow-up.

Hera laughed.

"_I'm afraid that's not in the cards,"_ Hera expectedly answered. _"But while we're still officially working together, there's another temporary Rebel who needs our assistance."_

Moira looked out to see Godzilla, still embroiled in a fight with two AT-ATs that were keeping a fair distance away from him. Moira wondered why he didn't just use that blue fire breath he shot out. Perhaps it took a lot of power to pull off. After all, he absorbed a ton of lightning before to seriously let loose with it in the quarry. Regardless, after the lizard had saved her backside just a few moments ago she figured she owed him a solid. Even if she still wasn't sure if the big grey monster had meant to save her at all.

"Might as well," Moira stated. "Don't got a tow-cable on this thing though. Do you?"

"_I prefer the more hands-on approach anyway,"_ Hera declared. _"Follow us in."_

Moira did so, speeding after the _Ghost_ as it raced towards the brawl. Hera crested the top of the walker as it walked around Godzilla, moving towards the head. When she got over it, she called out over the radio loudly.

"_Hit'em hard, Sabine!"_

Lasers from the lower nose turret perforated the walker's cockpit canopy. Bolts pounded on the head as Hera turned about for a direct confrontation. She lay into the face of the AT-AT with her main guns while Sabine kept firing with her turret. Moira soon came around and added her own furious display of lasers to the mix. Eventually the cockpit caught fire and the head exploded from all the sustained fire. Not particularly the best method one on one with an AT-AT. When it was partially distracted by a giant lizard and taking several direct hits to the face it though, suddenly became doable.

Not missing a beat, Moira moved to the next AT-AT, firing at its head as she sped by. For a split second, the pilot of the walker followed the ARC-170. That was the second it lost the fight, because in that moment Godzilla seized the walker. With no need to worry about the second war machine, it now could focus all its energies on the only one left still currently engaging him. Moira watched as the beast used his massive claws to tear into the back of the AT-AT. And once he had dug them deep, he pried the war machine apart, splitting it down the middle. The two broken halves of the AT-AT fell to earth, side with the cockpit on it falling to the right. Godzilla let out a triumphant roar and then moved onto the next group of AT-ATs.

Moira just stared in stunned silence for a brief moment. Gorossk was right, this thing was an apex predator, a ruthless one at that. It was hard to imagine that anything could stop him at this point, but then she remembered the Star Destroyers and the problems they would pose for him.

"Should we ask him for a thank you or just link back up with the others and see about those Destroyers?" She asked Hera over the radio.

"_Destroyers,"_ Hera responded without even missing a beat.

Yeah, she thought she'd say that. So they left Godzilla to his work and raced back to the Raider Squadron. They'd need to come up with a plan on how to deal with those Star Destroyers. If they weren't dealt with, Ahsoka's people wouldn't even get to the complex with or without a hole blown through their defenses.

* * *

Sakal had pulled out every AT-AT defensive action in the rule book. The monster was taking a pounding, reports from the AT-ATs still in the field claimed he appeared to be hurt, everything he was hearing made it sound like Alpha Predator One was fighting more defensively and it was tiring him out. And yet it wasn't dead, so none of that mattered. Unless it was dead, they were failing. As more and more AT-ATs fell, Sakal finally relented.

"Tell all walkers to pull back to secondary," he ordered Klusto. "Engaging him directly isn't working, we need to create a wall. Draw him in and then hit him from behind on both sides with-"

Sakal felt a cold chill suddenly rise up his spine, as ghostly deep breathing sounded over his right shoulder. He slowly turned and saw Lord Vader staring down at him. It took all of Sakal's courage not to jump back in fright.

"This is becoming embarrassing, General," he stated. "You have been given every advantage in this battle. All our most advanced and powerful weapons. And yet here we are. With you losing the initiative against, of all things, an animal."

"I'm doing everything I possibly can, Lord Vader," Sakal pleadingly insisted. "I have the Destroyers moving in. Once they have line of sight and a clear target they can bombard the immediate area with no more loss of life to our own forces. The Rebels will attack whether he breaks through or not, we have to consider their inevitable-"

Vader rose his finger violently, practically shoving it in the General's face.

"Do not presume to know what I have and have not considered," Vader boomed at him. "In regards to the defense of this complex, I am still weighing many options at my disposal."

Sakal did not like the emphasis he put on the word "disposal" just then. He had to think of something, a way to kill that monster, not just hurt it. The Destroyers were one idea, but maybe there was something more he could do.

"We do have other weapons," Sakal recalled. "The special walkers Overseer Nulon procured for study and integration into the prototype before he... well."

Sakal stopped there, not wanting to remember what had happened mere hours ago. Mainly because he kept placing himself in Nulon's position continuously whenever he did. The General looked to Klusto instead, hoping he'd continue to explain.

"They are certainly more powerful than your average AT-AT," the Commander admitted. "They could push him back. But, we'd be risking our greatest asset against the Rebels in the process. Their shock value would be more potent against them than the monster. Not to mention our troops aren't as trained with them as they should be."

"Well there's no more time for training," Sakal declared adamantly. "Ready or not, we need them up and running as soon as possible. If the Destroyers fail we'll send them in. If nothing, maybe it will finally finish the beast off."

"For your sake, I hope your confidence in these special walkers is well placed," Vader threateningly stated.

The dark armored man walked away slightly, staring out of the Command Center window. He had stopped being the shadow, now he was among Sakal's own people. The General already felt the noose tightening around him. He had to make this work.

* * *

Godzilla followed the walking tanks as they moved back into a more defensive position. He suspected though that were not really retreating. No, they were merely trying to preserve their dwindling numbers and try to protect what little ground they had left. He had seen this so many times before it was almost like clockwork.

Their delaying tactics were more effective than those back home, however, for their weapons hit hard and left their mark. Godzilla kept pushing despite the pain, it was nothing compared to what he had been forced to endure when man awoke him with their own super weapon. All he could do was hope his wounds would heal quickly and he'd be able to break through their lines.

He fired a short blast of his atomic breath, hitting one of the walkers with a blast to the face that blew it apart. As the AT-AT crumbled to the ground with smoke pouring from its headless neck, shots rang across Godzilla's back from both sides. He turned left and then right to see at least four AT-ATs on either end surrounding him. Their withdrawal had served another purpose, to encircle him. Well, he wanted a challenge, no sense in complaining now.

Since these machines were keeping their distance, far from his tail and claws, he couldn't so easily rip them apart. Using the atomic breath in a sweeping action could level one of the surrounding attackers, but that seemed a waste of energy, of which he had already used a lot of beforehand. Before he could think further though, the encircling AT-ATs backed away. They didn't disengage, they were still firing, but they widened their circle. Godzilla wondered why the sudden change in tactics? Why suddenly give him more room? Then he heard a low rumble in the air, saw the sun darken, looked up and got his answer.

The flying battleships had arrived, hovering over his head, no doubt training their various guns and weapons on them as he stood there. Now things made sense. The AT-ATs were giving their friends in the sky room enough to blast away at everything below with impunity. Well, not everything, just him.

Godzilla let out a roar of defiance up at the flying monstrosities. That was when they started firing. Powerful green energy bolts rained down from above, churning up volcanic rock as they struck the ground, causing massive explosions. Godzilla ducked his head low and began to run, looking for some kind of shelter in the bombardment. There was none, he felt a terrible burn strike his back and force him down. He pounded the dirt and jumped back up, continuing to run, struggling against both near misses and direct hits. Each shot made the ground shake, his body wince, scales burn and char.

At this rate they'd burn the volcanic rock to glass just to be rid of him. Perhaps he had left a bigger impression on this Empire than he originally thought. He wasn't sure how proud he should be of such an accomplishment given the circumstances. With that sobering thought, and no substantial shelter in sight, Godzilla looked for the next best thing and scrambled for it.

* * *

Scanners on the Star Destroyer's bridge couldn't pick up anything for awhile and visual confirmation was impossible through all the dust and rock being kicked up. Perhaps they had jumped the gun a bit when the monster started roaring, but no one wanted to risk being hit by the creature's ray beam. While there was no clear indication they were hitting anything, the area was so completely saturated it was impossible that they hadn't hit the monster at least once. On the other hand, what good was a barrage on a singular target if it wasn't more focused on said target's current position? Eventually the Imperial Captain waved his hand in a silencing motion and shouted across the bridge.

"Tell all ships to stop firing," he ordered. "We've lost visual. We need to reacquire the target again. Let the smoke clear, recycle the guns and then we'll coordinate our fire in a concentrated bombardment."

Eventually the Destroyers silenced their guns, even for the moment. The smoke and volcanic dust took awhile to clear, but when it did... they saw nothing. The monster was nowhere to be found, as if he had just vanished into thin air. Briefly, everyone started mumbling about the beast being vaporized, but their Captain wasn't about to claim victory so quickly.

"Initiate heat signature and bio scan," he ordered. "If something is alive down there I want to see it on screen."

The Star Destroyer's sensors began to scan about the area, but all they could see was volcanic rock, ash and the broken remains of AT-ATs the monster had destroyed. The Captain didn't understand, how did they lose something that big?

* * *

He waited beneath the broken and discarded machines, the dirt and rock covering him partially. It wasn't the best of cover, but it had been all he could find. His dead enemies would serve as a protective shell, at least for the moment while his wounds healed and his skyward foes scratched their heads in confusion. Godzilla waited, lying perfectly still, letting them think they had won for a few precious moments more. He listened to the rumbling engines of the flying machines above, mentally determining their positions.

Then, as he began to charge his power, bright blue creeping up his spines, he struck.

Bursting from beneath the broken remains of the Imperial Walkers, rock and earth exploding forth as he arched up. Godzilla aimed his mouth in the direction of one of the Destroyers and fired a blazing blue beam of death directly at it. The blast cascaded across the ship's stomach, easily cutting through the shields and burning away at the hull. The Star Destroyer rocked wildly as it took the hit and desperately listed to the right to escape the attack.

Godzilla ended the sustained blast and pulled himself out of the wreckage entirely. As he did, the large broken machines gave him another idea. He picked up the decapitated head of an AT-AT and chucked it towards the Star Destroyer. The cockpit crashed into the side of the bridge tower as the already damaged Destroyer limped off to the side. Godzilla then grabbed at a large intact chassis and threw it directly at the underbelly of the next ship. The walker torso managed to burst through a number of decks with relative ease.

The still functioning AT-ATs on the ground opened fire, trying to force Godzilla off his newest targets in the air. The reptilian titan lay down another wall of fire with his atomic breath towards the walkers behind him. That would disrupt their aim long enough to accomplish his new mission, to bring this flying machines down.

There was ample ammo littering the field to throw back up into the skies. Better yet, the ships were so low tossing the parts at them was child's play. Every substantially large part Godzilla could find he tossed up into the air, mostly at the various guns that had by now resumed their attack. He managed to destroy a few with his attacks, but despite the damage it wasn't enough to take one of these ships down. He needed to find a weakpoint, something to aim for.

If nothing else, the attacks forced the Star Destroyers to back off slightly and reposition themselves further away from the complex. They didn't want a stray piece of giant scrap to his the facility they had meant to protect. As they moved away from the onslaught of wreckage, Godzilla spotted something. A strange depression in one flying battleship's stomach where he could see spare flying machines hanging from above. That looked like a sufficiently big chink in the armor.

The ship in question had been hit by several AT-AT parts already, losing quite a few guns. Godzilla powered up his atomic breath, but this time he aimed directly for the depression that housed the miniature flyers. The beam launched out and struck the hangar dead center. Godzilla poured on the fire, the power of his atomic breath forcing him slightly back as he poured it on. Then, suddenly and violently, the blast cut clean through the ship, hit the engine core and caused the whole stern of the destroyer to explode. The Imperial ship fell from the skies in flames, descending towards the volcanic mountains as it crashed. The massive vessel finally collided with the ground and a large fireball burst forth from its carcass.

Godzilla rested for a moment, watching the fires consume the demolished ship. The attack had taken quite a bit out of him, but he couldn't let up. He still had two more threats to deal with. He took aim at the second Star Destroyer and fired again, but the ship was ready this time. It turned away from the blast even before Godzilla fired it. The beam missed the hangar and didn't do nearly as much damage against the underside hull.

The Empire was probably using its shields again, sending more power to them to withstand his attacks. Godzilla could break through the shield given time, but it was time he didn't have. The ship fired several blasts directed at him, forcing him to back away from the barrage. They weren't about to let him get another clean shot. If only there was some way to close the gap, to fight the ship one on one.

That was when Godzilla got another idea. He had only ever used this trick once before, mainly because it had a lot out of him just to pull off. However, he'd be using just as much, if not more, to break through the shields while under fire. It was a risk he had to take.

With his back turned towards the nearest Star Destroyer, Godzilla bent his head down, charged his atomic breath and just as it reach the apex of its growing power he jumped into the air. The force of his atomic blast acted like a jet engine and sent into the air, flying backwards. He kept the blazing blue stream going, knowing that the second he stopped firing was the second he'd fall back to earth. For the moment, it would keep him airborne and speeding towards the Star Destroyer.

As he neared the ship, Godzilla angled the beam to lift his back right into the vessel's stomach. His dorsal fins sliced into the hull, scraping along the metal and through the lower decks. He then raised his arms, digging his claws into the ship's insides. At last, he stopped shooting the atomic breath. He now hung precariously from the still flying ship and began pulling out it's guts with reckless abandon. Wires, generators and machinery tumbled out, the pieces falling to the ground. He knocked some in various directions, sending them flying towards the AT-ATs below and crushing them.

Already the excessive damage was taking its toll, as the ship was starting to list downwards. Godzilla's added weight probably wasn't helping either. The ground was starting to come up fast, but the giant reptile didn't seem be in any hurry to leave. He still had a lot of ship to gut after all.

* * *

Moira wasn't sure if she should believe what she was seeing just now. This giant monster had just launched itself off the ground, flew backwards through the air and grabbed onto a Star Destroyer in order to tear it apart from below. They had said this thing was sentient, even intelligent, she didn't think it was also borderline insane. It took awhile for her to find words to use, but she managed.

"Well, that's something you don't see every day," she noted aloud.

She was still trying to wrap her head around how exactly that had worked, but her brain soon had to process other things. Specifically the remaining Star Destroyer moving into position to fire on the precariously hanging Godzilla. Then, suddenly, Godzilla turned towards the approaching ship. For whatever reason, he fired a ray blast from his mouth that slammed across the top of the Star Destroyer, setting it ablaze. The force of the blast forced the Destroyer back up into the air a bit, halting its descent for a few fleeting seconds.

Godzilla, in the meantime, suddenly plunged his head into the bottom of the Destroyer he was still hanging from. He tore a big chunk from the ship and sent it hurtling towards the second ship. From what Moira saw it was probably a piece of the hyperdrive, but she couldn't tell from this far away.

Finally Godzilla swung himself off the doomed ship and dropped towards the Destroyer slightly below. His claws scratched into the ship's hull, tearing deeply into it. But unlike before, he couldn't hold on as well. He slipped from the ship, firing a short ray blast from his mouth that damaged part of the bridge tower.

The big grey lizard plummeted to the ground again, moving his body in order to point one of his shoulders down towards a bunch of AT-ATs below. He crashed down on top of the war machines, crushing them all. The Star Destroyer he just dropped from veered away, fires raging across all decks. The other Star Destroyer, badly damaged from the attack, now began to plummet, explosions bursting from every deck.

Moira figured Godzilla had damaged to engine core in the attack and that it was far too damaged to stay in the air. She contacted Hera as she watched the ship fall.

"You just saw what I just saw right?" She asked. "I didn't take some bad death sticks, did I?"

"_No, I saw it too,"_ Hera assured her. _"Still trying to process it. I'm not sure if I should be laughing or cheering at the moment to be honest."_

"Same," Moira concurred. "No matter which one it is though, that big lizard is pretty damn hardcore."

* * *

The Star Destroyer's Captain watched as his ship's bridge went up in flames. His crew panicked and ran about, trying to get to escape pods. He knew it was pointless, they were just too low. At least they had directed themselves away from the facility, but it was a small comfort given the circumstances.

As he watched the ground get closer and close in the window, clutching onto the terminal as their nose dipped and the whole bridge became slanted, he tried to piece together everything. They had just been taken out of the air because a monster flew up from the ground using his heat breath and gutted their engines. Of all the ways to lose a fight, this was not one he had considered. Again, that wasn't much comfort.

"This is quite literally the most ridiculous way for someone to die," he declared. Then he just sighed and held his head high. "Oh well, at least it's memorable."

That was when the ground filled the entire window, the nose broke in half against the ashen soil and the entire bridge went up in a fireball.

* * *

Ezra had watched the whole scene through the macrobinoculars with rapt attention. He imagined everyone else was doing the same. Godzilla had just demolished two Star Destroyers and taken another out of the fight. And the way he did it was nothing short of astounding.

"Do you think he could always do that?" He asked Kanan curiously.

"I, uh, I guess so," he flabbergasted Jedi replied. "Probably took a lot out of him though."

"It did," Ahsoka stated, sounding just as surprised at the whole ordeal as any of them. "I can sense his strength ebbing. He's using too much energy in this fight. The Empire may be on the ropes, but they're wearing him down with every shot. If he doesn't make a breakthrough soon, he won't make one at all."

Ezra couldn't help but hope he was fighting this hard because he wanted to give them the chance they needed to end this. However, he figured the real reason was because he knew this was the last fight. If he won here, he'd never be bothered again. To hold anything back now would be foolish.

However, his lack of restraint was costing him. Ezra knew what that felt like and he knew he wouldn't have eased back if it weren't for Kanan's guidance. If Ahsoka was right, maybe it was time to step off the sidelines.

"Can't we help him?" He asked both his fellow Force Users. "He might be stronger than any creature alive, but he's not invincible. He keeps going like this and the Empire is going take him down."

"We'd just be in his way right now," Kanan informed him. "Our best option is to wait for our opening and move in quickly. We'll be in a better position to help him then and we won't be wasting resources to bust through that outer perimeter."

Ahsoka seemed to agree with Kanan, much to Ezra's displeasure. However, as he looked back to the battle, he saw something near the walls of the science facility. A large underground door slowly rose from the volcanic rock. It opened up and out marched two walkers, but unlike any he had ever seen. Godzilla had a new opponent to play with now.

* * *

Picking himself off the ground and surveying the remains of the AT-ATs he crushed, Godzilla felt he was now pretty much in the clear to burst through the facility walls and end this farce. Instead, he soon saw another obstacle parading up from the underground. Large spider-like machine crawled out into the open, two of them to be exact and trained their sights on him. Godzilla cocked his head from side to side, curious at the strange new machines but recognizing them as a threat nonetheless. He steeled his gaze as the new war machines began to move into attack position, AT-ATs flanking them as they did.

Unknown to Godzilla, these machines were some of the deadliest walker attack vehicles in the Imperial arsenal. They were unique in more than one way, as they had decidedly more alien origins. Mobile Heavy Cannons were created by the Umbarans, a species who lived on a world constantly shrouded in darkness. Just like their world, their weapons were vastly different than other cultures and the MHCs were no exception. Walking around on six legs, these massive machines sported a large swiveling plasma turret on the top of their bulbous chassis. After the Clone Wars, the Empire had snatched up the remaining tanks and altered the design slightly for the Imperial Military. These ones weren't all that different from the Umbaran models and were no less menacing than their alien built cousins. For the Clone Troopers that had first encountered them so many years ago, they were very intimidating. Not so for Godzilla, as all they did was make him think of Kumonga and how annoying that lecherous bug could be.

Godzilla moved to engage, but the MHCs opened fire first. Their giant electromagnetic plasma cannons blasted away with several shots. Each hit harder than the last it seemed, their attacks knocking the monster king back a few feet each. Godzilla hadn't had as much time as he would've liked to recover from his flying attack and these spider tanks were now taking full advantage of that.

Now firing in unison, Godzilla moved back, keeping his eye on the attacking robotic spiders. These plasma weapons hurt more than previous ones, perhaps because of the electrical charge each plasma shot carried. Devastating against infantry, painful against a monster whose only weakness was with electricity. Godzilla continued to fall back, losing ground that had been hard fought and earned. The AT-ATs joined in as well, intent on avenging their fallen comrades. Godzilla had no opening to strike back, not with the MHCs refusing to let up.

Before long, Godzilla was stumbling into the dense jungle near the edge of the volcanic field. He hoped the trees and brush would force the giant machines to slow, but they kept pressing. There was little he could do under the intense fire and his body still hadn't fully healed from the fight before. He would not give in though, he would find a way past their guns. He started forcing himself to weather to shots, pushing towards these new enemies.

Thats when something started hitting the MHCs from above. Lasers and proton bombs suddenly started dropping from the skies. Some hit the AT-ATs flanking the six-legged war machines, others hit the MHCs. Godzilla looked up and saw the source of the attack, it was the Rebel flying machines once again, trying to force the attention of the Empire away from him. Suddenly the Plasma weapons turned skyward and started shooting at the Rebels above, particularly a oddly shaped craft that just danced gracefully around the shots.

Godzilla had no time to be thankful, only time to exploit the distraction knowing it would not last long. He saw one of the AT-ATs had broken from the rest of the formation, trying to escape another bombing run. Godzilla raced towards it, letting it open fire on him. It wouldn't matter when he was done with it, for as he closed the distance he leered his head down and then butted the his skull against the machine's belly. As it reared up, Godzilla grabbed the AT-AT and kept running with it out in front, using it like a riot shield.

The nearest MHC reacquired Godzilla, but its shots did little to break through the metal bulkhead of the AT-AT. Before long, the back of the upturned was slamming into the spider-like machine with the force of a speeding freight train. The six-legged war machine stumbled backwards, slight damage to its hull, but Godzilla was far from finished. He began beating the MHC to a pulp with the AT-AT, pounding on it again and again until the cockpit window smash clean open and the plasma turret lay broken and useless. The giant reptilian terror then tossed the broken remains of the AT-AT towards the second MHC and shoved his massive claw into the cockpit. He squeezed hard and ripped out the machine's guts before unleashing a close range atomic blast that obliterated the vehicle upper half.

As the smoking remains of the MHC collapsed to the ground, Godzilla used his massive tail to smack away a remaining AT-AT, beating it into the ground. But while he had destroyed the nuisance before it could become a problem, the still functioning MHC unloaded two blasts into Godzilla's shoulder and head. The giant lizard king was knocked down into the ground by the force of the blast, but scrambled onto all fours. He turned, seeing the Rebels continue to hit the MHC, trying to get it away from him. In that moment, Godzilla lunged at the war machine and grabbed for it's legs.

The King of the Monsters now stood tall again, clutching the front legs of the MHC in both hands. He pulled on one hard and plucked the robotic limb clean out of its socket. Sparks flew and wires spilled out alongside fluid as the machine's middle legs started pounding into Godzilla's chest. In response, he bent down, snatched up one of the legs in his jaws and wrenched it free of the body.

Now with only four mismatched legs, the machine tried to slink out of the monster's grasp. It pulled back, causing Godzilla to stumble at the sudden jolt and loosen his grip. Now free, the giant walker aimed its weapon at the lizard's head. Godzilla quickly grappled the vehicle's weapon and smashed his free claw into the cockpit. He moved the gun away as plasma blasts started firing away. He aimed the turret towards the science facility perimeter wall and let it devastate the defenders. Big bluish-green balls of hot flaming death streamed towards the Stormtroopers on the battlements, wreaking havoc as blowing holes clear through their defenses. Finally, Godzilla snapped the turret off like a twig, ending its threat to him.

The King of the Monsters was far from done though. With every bit of his remaining strength, Godzilla lifted the machine off the ground, roaring in rage as he did. He was subsisting on pure adrenaline now, pure primal power. He swung the massive machine around him to build up momentum, holding onto one of its dangling legs. Then he let go and let the giant broken metal spider sail through the air and crash back down on the Imperial Facility's wall. The husk of the machine burst through the perimeter with relative ease, leaving a several dozen yard gash in the perimeter itself.

Godzilla roared in triumph one last time and lowered his head, panting as he did. He had given the Rebels what they wanted, a way in. Now they could take things the rest of the way and give him a moment to rest. He'd finish the Empire off once he was back to full strength, which wouldn't take long. He had taken their best shot once again and they had failed. The rest would be child's play.

* * *

Ahsoka lowered the macrobinoculars and opened up the comms channel.

"We have our opening," she declared. "All forces, converge on the facility. We need to exploit that hole while the Empire is still bleeding. Move out and do not stop for anything!"

She began rushing back towards the Juggernaut, Kanan and Ezra in tow. Already the other Rebels were scrambling to their own vehicles and racing off towards the facility en masse. Godzilla had pulled through after all, he had given them their way inside. All they had to do now was take the facility and destroy the Cyber Zillo-Beast.

"You think Godzilla will be alright," Ezra asked as he ran alongside her. "He's taken a real beating and the Empire is still gonna want him dead."

"We can't worry about that right now, Ezra," Ahsoka insisted sternly. "We need to complete the mission. Right now he's resting and rebuilding his strength. Let's just give him his space and let him recover. Our concern is the monster the Empire has inside right now."

Ezra turned away as they climbed into the Juggernaut. She supposed she was being a bit harsh there, but right now they needed to stay focused. Their mission's goal was in sight, they couldn't trip up now.

* * *

Sakal stared at the holotable in disbelief. The Mobile Heavy Cannons had failed. Alpha Predator One was battered and weakened, but he had prevailed regardless. Their defenses had been compromised and the Rebels were no doubt on their way. He was out of resources. What few AT-ATs he had left weren't enough to make up for every defensive turbolaser they had lost and with the only Star destroyer still flying badly damaged their air support was all but gone. He clutched at the side of the table, breathing heavily, sweating profusely as he frantically tried to think.

"Klusto, have all forces converge on the gash in the wall," he stated hurriedly. "That is where the Rebels will be concentrating their efforts. We'll pull back the remaining AT-ATs and focus the AT-MPs on strategic approach vectors. We can set up fallback position in-"

"This has gone far enough," the booming voice of Vader declared suddenly.

The tall dark cloaked figure turned towards the General marching slowly up to him. Sakal could no longer keep his legs steady and even he backed away slightly, fear and panic clearly etched across his face, but still retaining a sense of determination.

"I haven't lost yet," he insisted. "I can beat the Rebels! I still- ack!"

Sakal suddenly found himself clutching at his throat, as if an invisible hand was clasping around his windpipe. The ghostly grip started to tighten, strangling him until he could hardly breathe. He choked and sputtered, digging at his neck, as his eyes bulged and his tongue swelled. He looked to Vader and saw that he was clutching his hand into a claw-like shape, aiming it at him directly. It was then Sakal felt the floor beneath him vanish and he began to float ever so slightly off the ground. He wanted to scream in fear, tell Vader to stop, explain that he could fix this, but he couldn't. All he could do was listen as everything started going dark.

"You have failed the Empire for the last time, General," Vader coldly informed him. It was the last words he spoke to Sakal directly, before is gaze turned to Klusto. "Commander, have your forces prepare a defense against the Rebels. And inform the remaining Star Destroyer to close within range of the Monster's coordinates. I will contact them shortly, you are now in command, General Klusto."

They were the last words Sakal heard before his whole body went limp and everything went dark.

* * *

Klusto could only thank Lord Vader for his generosity as he watched his old friend slink to the floor dead, finally released from the invisible hold on his neck. Vader then left the room, his entourage in tow. Klusto couldn't take his eyes off of Sakal's body, the look of frozen abject horror on his corpse. Klusto felt he was about to be sick.

All their plans, their hopes, the things Sakal said would be their reward for a job well done, they all died with him. Klusto suddenly wondered if any of them would get out of this alive, if any of them would be spared Vader's wrath should the monster fail to kill them. Their fates were no longer theirs regardless. All Klusto could do now was stop the Rebels, carry out Vader's orders and hope for the best.

He thought briefly of Boll and what Vader would do to her next if things went further south than already were. If nothing else, he had to find a way to keep her safe. He already lost one valued friend, he would not lose her. All he had to do was hold these Rebels back, but that was a daunting task. Whatever the cost, he had to find a way to keep Boll safe. He couldn't contact her now and warn her though, Vader was probably listening in. He needed to find her directly and that meant finding a moment to slip away.

For now though, he sent the order for the Destroyer to move into position near Alpha Predator One.

* * *

Moira watched the stream of activity below them. The Imperials were quickly readjusting their strategy given how badly their perimeter had been broken just now. The bulk of their forces were moving to block the hole in the wall Godzilla had just created. It was the only thing they could do, but it also made them easier targets for an air assault.

"Anglyph, how many bombs you got left?" She asked.

The ithorian responded with a cautionary series of worbbles and grunts, reminding of a potential danger she was overlooking.

"I know they got AT-MPs, but their missiles are going be preoccupied with us and the ground, trust me," she assured him. "Just prepare for a run on that hole. We break their defense there and the Rebels can just move through the breach with little to no opposition."

"_Our ship is going to need a place to land, Moira,"_ Hera informed her over the comm. _"We're going to need to meet up with our friends down below once they get inside."_

"I'll put Ro on it," she assured the twi'lek pilot. "He'll make sure the way is clear for you. We have an ETA on the main force's arrival? Because the Imps are scrambling to secure that gap."

"_Fulcrum said they'd be here in minutes,"_ Hera replied. _"We'll be part of the opening barrage. Primary targets at the AT-ATs and any other heavy weapons we can spot. I'll be dropping Sabine off to help once the charge starts."_

It seemed like everything was accounted for, save for the Star Destroyer that was supposed to be still flying around. However, it didn't seem to be in any hurry to help provide support. The remaining TIEs had been largely routed and any that remained were hovering over the facility proper. Something felt wrong, she turned her craft in the direction of damaged Star Destroyer and saw it limping in the opposite direction of the facility, headed towards Godzilla. What the hell were they thinking? Even weakened, that big lizard had to have enough juice to blow their smoking behind out of the skies. Imps weren't smart, but they weren't that stupid.

Now Moira was certain something was really wrong.

* * *

Darth Vader moved through the complex towards the roof. He strode out onto a large landing pad that overlooked his far off target. The giant reptile stood in the jungle beyond, slowly making it's way back to the facility. Vader could sense the creature was exhausted, but it wasn't dead and therefore still a threat. Until it no longer moved, until it stopped breathing it would remain a threat. It roared ever so slightly as it stomped about, signaling its eventual return to battle. That it was battered but would soon finish the job the Rebels had sent it here to do.

Then it spotted the Star Destroyer looming overhead and turned towards it. It didn't fire, its energy reserves still too low no doubt. All the better as far as Vader was concerned. He wanted that ship as intact as possible if his plan was to succeed. He had ever confidence it would though, he had done it before, when he was a different man. Back then he had the ship evacuated before he drove it into a Trade federation vessel. Sentimentality, mercy, weakness, things a Sith had no use for. The Destroyer was useless now, its crew expendable. All that mattered was killing the monster while it was still recovering.

"Lord Vader to Star Destroyer," he began, contacting the Captain over the comm. "What is your status?"

"_My Lord, this is the Captain," _the Officer began nervously._ "We're in position as ordered, sir. I'm not sure what good we can do. All primary weapons have lost power, we're barely holding on as it is. If this thing fires at us our shields won't hold. I request that my ship be pulled out of combat range so we can-"_

"Your request is denied, Captain," Vader responded coldly. "Your Empire requires you for one final service. Do not fear, you will be remembered for your bravery."

Vader stretched out his hands and reached through the Force towards the Star Destroyer. It was time to show this monster that he was not the only one with impressive powers. That there was a cost for defying the Empire and the Sith. With the power of the Force surging through him, harnessed in his fingertips, he closed his hands around the Imperial Starship. The vessel buckled and shook in the air as Vader strained to pull it down. The monster's attention was soon more firmly earned as the Star Destroyer's nose pointed towards his head.

Vader than forced the ship to careen towards the monster, ever so slowly first but picking up speed with every second he had his invisible hold on the starship itself. Pieces of metal and of the hull began to crack and break off under the strain of the Sith Lord's power. Fires and explosions spread forth from open seams in the hull, jutting small towers of fire and the vessel fell.

It was only then Vader heard the screams. He hadn't turned off his comm-link, he was still connected to the bridge of the doomed Star Destroyer. The panic cries of the Officers aboard, not understanding why they were suddenly falling, no, plummeting to their deaths. Vader let the screams carry on, tuning them out. They were of little consequence, he had to maintain complete focus on the task at hand. His muscles ached as he continued to force the ship towards it's target. The pain was nothing compared to what he lived with everyday inside his armor, he would not succumb to it. However, he was straining the limits of even his power and he had to end this quickly.

The monster roared up at the oncoming ship, he had nowhere to really run in time and didn't look like he wanted to. Instead he fired his atomic breath at the incoming ship, hitting it in the nose. That only succeeded in setting the vessel on fire, it did not stop it. Vader forced the ship to fall faster, battling against the beast's attack. He strained and growled beneath his helmet, his fingers turning into claws as he powered the Star Destroyer's descent forward. Until finally he let out one last burst of strength and pushed the Star Destroyer into freefall speed.

The ship's nose slammed into the giant lizard's maw, pushing him down into the dirt as the giant burning ship crashed atop him. Dirt, trees, rock, trees, fire and smoke all exploded upon collision. The ship's engines exploding mere moments after hitting the ground. A huge fireball lit up the sky and set the jungle ablaze.

It was done. Vader turned away from the burning wreckage in the distance, his arms slumped to his side beneath his cloak, but he himself stood tall and unwavering, his stride unbroken. It was as he predicted. Without hate, the monster's rage was a tiny flickering flame against him. The power of the Dark Side had prevailed once again. Alpha Predator One was dead.

* * *

Everyone in the Rebel Task Force had seen it, no one couldn't. Their eyes had more or less be split in focus between their final goal and Godzilla as he stood recuperating. When they had seen the Star Destroyer suddenly dive towards the giant reptile, crashing into him, no one could turn away. Hera had transmitted the footage from the _Ghost's_ cameras directly to Ahsoka's Juggernaut. It was a disturbing sight to be sure.

"They committed suicide just to kill him?" Zeb asked, still astonished.

Ahsoka didn't think so, and she suspected Kanan felt the same. His expression was similar to hers, one of suspicion and contemplation. Imperials weren't so keen on suicide runs like that and something had felt really off about how it started falling. There was little time to think about it though, as Ezra started shouting.

"We have to go," he said. "We have to get to that crash site and help him!"

"Ezra we don't even know if he's still alive," Kanan sternly informed him. "And even if he was, how would we help him? He's buried under a ton of Imperial bulkhead!"

"I don't know, but we have to try!" Ezra insisted. "We owe it to him! He wouldn't have come here if we hadn't asked him to! We wouldn't have a chance at getting inside if it wasn't for him!"

Kanan turned and bent down to Ezra's level, maintain his firm tone.

"That's right, we wouldn't have this chance without him and if we take time out to go to that crash site we're going to lose that chance," he told his padawan. "Right now, we have to stay focused and get into that facility."

Ezra turned to Ahsoka, but she shook her head too.

"It is the best way we can honor his actions," she stated solemnly. "I'm sorry, Ezra, but this mission is bigger than any one individual. We can't stop the attack just to check on him out of the slim chance he's alive."

"But he is alive," Ezra continued to insist. "I can feel it! Don't ask how, I just do! We can't just abandon him!"

"And we can't just abandon the mission either," Kanan reiterated. "It's the whole reason we're even here in the first place."

"It wasn't his mission until we made it his," Ezra shouted back. "We pulled him into this! Now that he's served his purpose we're done with him? Is that what this Rebellion is about? I thought we were better than that."

Kanan just sighed and stood back up.

"I'm sorry, Ezra," He told Ezra sternly. "But I told you before, this fight will involve sacrifice from all of us. That's just how it is. I wish it wasn't like that, believe me."

Ezra looked away frowning, the discussion seemingly ended. Everyone turned back towards the attack screen and started rethinking their strategy.

"With Godzilla gone, the Stormtroopers are probably feeling a hell of a lot better about themselves right now," Ahsoka warned. "Their morale is going to be a lot higher than we had hoped."

"At least packed in as they are, their greater numbers won't matter as much," Kanan added. "If things get rough, we can encircle their defenses around the perimeter breach and start squeezing. Either way, we need to concentrate on taking out the AT-ATs and-"

There was a swooshing sound of a door opening and closing. Kanan, Zeb and Ahsoka turned to see Ezra was gone. Kanan growled under his teeth and ran out the door. Ahsoka knew that look, it was the disgruntled one Master Kenobi always had when Anakin ran off to do something stupid. She followed her fellow Force-User best she could through the Juggernaut's cramped corridors, heading towards a side troop compartment.

When they got there, they found they were too late. Ezra had taken a speeder bike, opened the side door and sped out into the wild, heading towards the billowing smoke of the crashed Star Destroyer. He was going to find Godzilla, or whatever was left of him.

"Blasted kid," Kanan growled as he prepared to mount the speeder bike.

Ahsoka stopped him though.

"No," she said, grabbing him by the shoulder. "I need you here with the attack force and your crew needs their leader."

"So I should just let Ezra run off on his own?" Kanan asked angrily. "Sorry, not happening. Who else is going to get him?"

"I will," Ahsoka assured. "I've already relayed the battleplan to all the Cell Commanders. I don't need to be here for the battle to work, but I need you with your crew and someone familiar with the overall strategy to direct things if something goes wrong."

Kanan seemed taken aback by this, surprised at what she was suggesting.

"You want me to lead the attack so you can go pick up my wayward apprentice?" He asked, seriously confused. "Why?"

"Trust me on this, Kanan," Ahsoka insisted. "Right now, I don't think you're going to be able to convince Ezra of anything. He may be your apprentice, but sometimes being the Master means trusting them to go their own way."

"He's doing something incredibly stupid and foolhardy," Kanan argued. "And for what? Because he wants to help a giant alien dragon that didn't even like us?"

Ahsoka didn't respond, she just climbed onto the speeder bike and started the engine.

"He's following his Jedi Instincts, they're telling him where he needs to be," she explained. "If you can't trust your Padawan's judgment, the Apprentice you've been teaching, how can you ever trust yourself as his Master?"

Without another word, Ahsoka took off after Ezra. Leaving Kanan to ponder her words. She wasn't sure if she was speaking sense, or if her advice was any good. Right now she was listening to her instincts, that being to let Kanan take the reigns for the assault and for her to follow Ezra. Maybe it was the odd feeling she had from the Star Destroyer's crash. Maybe it was because part of her felt she really did owe it to Godzilla to at least see if he was alive. Or maybe, it was just Ezra and how much this situation felt all too familiar to her. He was going off on his own path on this one, just like she had years before. This time though, unlike her, he wouldn't have to do it alone.

* * *

AN: Apologies that this took so long. It was a rough month, a lot of personal things. Writing was a bit difficult for a few days. I would like to thank Crow and Hellfox for doing what they could to help me through it. You guys bothered to listen and for that alone I'm grateful, it helped me to talk things out and move forward.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, that you will review and share your thoughts, and that if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. But do check my profile's note page first to see if I've already answered them for you. You'll find the latest edition to this story's author's note near the top of the profile page like always. Just copy and past the link, removing the "." from the address. Sorry it's like this, but that is how has decided to do things now. It's annoying, I don't like it, but it is out of my hands. Apologies. See you next time.


	9. I Shall Rise Again

Chapter 8: I Shall Rise Again!

The _Ghost_ came in low as the Juggernaut bursting onto the battlefield. The other Rebel forces were already moving up into the fight as the Hailfire droids bombarded the Imperial positions. AT-TEs moved up alongside the AAT-1s, firing into the besieged Stormtrooper lines. It was hard to tell at the moment if any of the explosions were doing anything though. The AT-ATs for their part returned fire, blasting at the Rebels as they approached. The closer they got, the more accurate giant walking death machines would become. With that in mind, the Juggernauts held back. They still had soldiers on board, no sense putting them in more danger than they had to be. Right now, it was probably the safest place to drop off Sabine.

The back doors of the ship opened up and Sabine looked down at the Juggernaut below. For a bulky behemoth of a war machine, it moved pretty fast. The Mandalorian activated her "liberated" jetpack and rocketed down towards the massive vehicle. She eventually managed to match the speed of the Juggernaut and place herself over the main body. Sabine then turned the pack off and let herself roll across the top of the vehicle until she stopped.

"_I'll provide what support I can from above,"_ Hera contacted her. _"See you and the others inside the complex."_

"Yeah, if the retro army we've cobbled together can get us there," Sabine responded somewhat sardonically.

As Sabine scrambled up towards the driver's cockpit for the Juggernaut, she watched the battle unfolding before her. AAT-1s and AT-TEs were pounding the forward positions, but they were taking fire from Imperial AT-MPs. Missiles struck one of the old Federation tanks, blowing a hole clean through the armor. Worse yet, the AT-ATs that were still in play were firing on the Rebels as well sporadically. One AT-TE was struck in the side and set on fire. Luckily, some of Raider starfighters managed to force the giant walker's attention away from the ground troops. That wouldn't last long though unless they took those giant four legged monstrosities out soon though.

Thankfully, the smaller ground troops were doing a bit better, harrassing the AT-MPs and Stormtroopers moving to close off their way inside the complex. One speeder bike raked several shots on a squad of troopers as it raced past them. As she watched that though, she saw two TIE fighters racing towards her from above. Sabine quickly tucked and rolled as a series of green laser bolts strafed the Juggernaut's roof. They missed her by the slimmest of margins and in retaliation she fired back on them as they flew off. It was just a brief moment of her Mandalorian heritage leaking through though and she quickly regained her focus. She at least managed to wing one of the annoying Imperial fighters though, that was satisfying.

Moira's Raiders would take care of the TIEs though, she needed to find a way to help out with the main battle on the ground. One way was taking out the Missile Walkers as they were hitting the tank formations hard. She saw her chance to help out when a skiff rocketed past the Juggernaut along its side far below. She activated her jet pack again and chased after the skiff, eventually catching up to it and grabbing onto the railing along its side. The pilot was a bit surprised when she forced herself over it, buthe quickly realized she was on his side when she started pointing at the AT-MPs.

"I need you to get me close to one of those things," she said. "We gotta take them down before we lose more tanks."

The pilot just nodded and increased the skiff's speed. The left the Juggernaut behind and raced towards the Missile Walkers. As soon as they got in range, the gunner aimed the skiff's big cannon and fired at the Imperial machines, hitting one in the left missile pod twice. The double blasts punctured the pod, causing the dormant missiles to explode and engulf the cockpit in flames.

As the war machine tumbled down into a heap of burning slag, Sabine looked for her own target to hit. She spotted it when a second AT-MP stomped out into the open to take the place of its fallen brother. As it aimed for the skiff, Sabine tossed a few explosives towards the walker. They blew up in its face, blinding the pilots and giving the skiff's gunner time to hit the machine's left leg joint hard.

The skiff now swerved in and around the crumbled and burning walkers, moving towards a third that was still operational. Sabine slung a stick bomb near the upper leg joint as they passed by. The resulting explosion ripped the leg right out from under the Walker, causing it to tumble towards the fleeing skiff. They managed to esacape the crashing machine, the only incovneience being the volcanic dust cloud it kicked up which covered them with a thin layer of ash.

Said thin layer was knocked off, however, when a missile nearly collided with them and slammed into the ground nearby. The shockwave it kicked up nearly toppled the vehicle, but Sabine managed to stay on. The gunner was not so lucky, as he flung to the side and smacked his head against the railing and was knocked out cold. The AT-MP that had just taken a shot at them now threatened to fire again. Sabine quickly rushed to take the cannon's controls and aimed it square in the center of the walker's face. She fired one shot and watched as the blast utterly obliterated the cockpit. Fire spewing from the eye sockets of the two-legged war bringer, it finally collapsed to the ground in a heap.

The impact of the defeated AT-MPs gave the Rebel tanks a new lease on life. They pressed on the remaining Missile Walkers, firing their heavy old guns at the highly advanced death machines. The powerful cannons ripped into the sides, blowing their pods apart and their cockpits with them. Slowly but surely, the gap Sabine had created started to widen. She moved to help the gunner up and ge thim back on his gun, there was still more work to do and she couldn't do it from the skiff.

"I'm heading groundside," Sabine told the pilot. "Keep helping the tanks, stay close to them."

Sabine jumped off the side of the skiff and hovered her way down to the ground floor. Almost instantly, red blaster fire started flying past her. Taking shelter behind the broken remains of an Imperial Walker, she spotted the cause. A small squad of Stormtroopers, firing wildly in her direction. As she watched them, one of their number took out a rocket launcher and fired it on AT-TE, hitting it in the leg joint and forcing it to grind to a halt. So not only were they blocking her way forward, but any Rebel vehicles that wandered into their field of vision. They had to be dealt with quickly.

A Rebel on a speeder bike was shot off his ride by the same squad of Stormtroopers. The bike coasted to a stop just a few feet away from Sabine's position. Seeing her chance, the young Mandalorian raced out into the open, firing blaster bolts at the entrenched Stormtroopers in an attempt to keep their heads low. When she made it to the bike she slid behind it and attached a few remote charges to the undercarridge.

"This would be a bad idea without a jetpack," she thought silently to herself. "Still isn't that great with one, but whatever."

When the last charge was placed, Sabine jumped into the bike's driver's seat and started the vehicle back up. She fired several shots from her speeder as she closed in on the Stormtrooper position. She kept her head low to avoid getting shot like the previous rider, but it made it hard to steer the thing or aim its lasers. When she felt she was getting close she looked back up and saw one of her shots take out a Trooper with ease as her bike was within spitting distance of the enemy position.

Sabine now activated her jet pack again and flew off her seat into the air. The bike collided with the Stormtrooper position as Sabine flew over it. She then detonated the explosives with her remote switch and watched as a huge ball of fire consumed the Stormtrooper position. She landed just behind the inferno, her guns out and at the ready.

As she did, a barrage of hailfire missiles slammed into facility's perimeter. Sabine looked back to see the droids had gotten closer and were now hitting the Imperial positions more frequently. Suddenly the AT-ATs turned their attention towards the big-wheeled rolling droids and opened fire. The old synthetics started getting torn to shreds, as laser cannons ripped through them with ease. Even fixed up as they were, they were no match for the Empire's most deadly walker. The AT-ATs also started firing on the still approaching Juggernauts, hoping to blow them away before they got any closer. The giant war rigs pressed on through heavy fire, but Sabine could see they were taking a lot of damage.

The AT-ATs had made a mistake in taking their eyes off the other Rebel Forces though. The AT-TEs and AAT-1s soon took up positions surrounding the giant four-legged walkers. They pointed their heavy guns up skyward, aiming for the head and neck and began opening fire. Sabine watched as the heavy guns tore through the armor of the giant war machine, smoke and fire billowing out of the cockpit. Additional shots made sure the AT-AT fell away from the main attack force.

At the same time, a flight of proton torpedos rammed into the side of a second AT-AT, blowing up its midsection. The entire machine fell with a resounding crash as small squadron of Y-Wing bombers flew past its smoking remains. It was then the Juggernauts finally got into range and started opening fire themselves. The lead Juggernaut let loose a storm of missiles and cannon fire, the sound of which defeaning to all nearby. The barrage of death easily ripped the final AT-AT to pieces, blowing the cockpit apart with just a few direct hits.

"_Sabine, you still out there?"_ Kanan's voice suddenly asked over the the Madalorian's comm. _"What's our damage?"_

"The Rebels got hit hard, but they're still pushing," Sabine assured. "Plenty of bucketheads between us and the big hole in the wall though. I'd rather not have to go through all of them by myself."

"_We're dropping off the squads we have inside the the Juggernauts to reinforce the attack,"_ Kanan assured her. _"I'll send Zeb out to join the attack with you. I'll be along in a bit."_

"What about Ezra?" Sabine asked, confused as to why there was no mention of him.

Come to think of it, why was Kanan talking to her? Where was Ahsoka? Why wasn't she issuing orders concerning the attack? And why was Kanan hanging back for a bit longer anyway? She quickly realized something was wrong, but Kanan explained it straight out for her instead.

"_He took off for the Star Destroyer crash site,"_ he explained growling lightly. _"He's trying to see if Godzilla is still alive. Ahsoka went after him and put me in charge of the attack while she's gone."_

"What?!"

That was all Sabine could say before a missile slammed into the ground a few dozen feet beside her. More Stormtroopers, desperately trying to hold off the Rebel advance. There was no time to comment or think more on what Ezra and Ahsoka were doing. Sabine was in the thick of battle, one that she suspected wasn't about to let up anytime soon. The Empire had no intention of surrendering this facility and it's monstrous little super weapon to the Rebels knocking at their door.

* * *

Klusto was not enjoying his sudden field promotion at all. Not only had it cost him an old friend, he had inherited a problem he wasn't sure he could salvage. If past experience had taught him anything, that probably meant he was next on the chopping block. Or, as far as Vader was cocerned, the choking block.

Avoiding such a fate was growing ever more slim by the second. The Rebels had just destroyed the remaining AT-ATs. Klusto suspected that would happen, they weren't in the best of shape after Alpha Predator One's attack. As powerful as an AT-AT was, if outnumbered it could be destroyed. The old AT-TE's powerful heavy cannons were more than enough to puncture the weakpoint in their successor's neck. Klusto didn't know how they had found so many of the old clunky walkers, but they had enough to cause the damage required to take the bigger and deadlier AT-ATs down. Strength in numbers usually trumped straight up power in the right circumstances.

Klusto had hoped to at least destroy one of the Juggernaut war rigs, thus removing a sizable portion of their attack force. They had caused some damage, but the Rebel tanks had survived the gauntlet of AT-MPs and landed some killing blows alongside the Y-Wing bombers. Now several dozen squads of Rebel soldiers were storming the battlefield as the Stormtroopers fell back to the facility proper. They couldn't hold back the tide, not after all the damage Alpha Predator One caused.

At the moment, Klusto was just hoping to choke the Rebels in the halls and corridors of the various buildings inside the complex. If they could hold them off long enough, they could get all the data and relevant material out. The Rebels would take the facility, but the Empire would still have enough to rebuild. If they were really lucky, they could even get the prototype to safety. The problem was, Vader didn't seem to want to retreat, he had every intention of winning. Klusto wasn't sure if that was confidence or just sheer ruthless determination. Probably a mixture of both actually.

Bearing that in mind, that victory was the only thing Vader would accept, he racked his mind trying to think of ways to do just that. The Rebels had great numbers, but they were limited in size. If they had more men, maybe they could hold them off, force them to head back outside. If worse came to worse, they could try ordering a bomber flight of TIEs to hit the Rebel controlled portions of the facility from above. Although, Klusto suspected the enemy air support would hinder their effectiveness.

In the end it came back to men and they just didn't have enough. Vader had a few more of his 501st soldiers out in the field, but it was a small complement. All Klusto could really do was just increase defences around the main data servers, central cloning lab and the reactor.

As for the prototype, the holding bay was locked down, only the highest clearance could get you inside. Klusto hoped that would be enough, if nothing else they could salvage the prototype. There was the chance Vader would just decide to use it against the Rebels, but Klusto suspected that he'd only do so as a last resort. He himself would not consider it unless Vader gave the order. The Cyber Zillo-Beast was still untested, they weren't sure what would happen when they let it loose.

"We've lost another AT-MP, sir," one of the officers informed him. "And another two squads. Latest reports suggest Rebels are inside the defensive perimeter now."

"Get some turrets or something up to the line," Klusto ordered. "Lock down portions of the facility and funnel them into kill zones. We have to thin them out and keep them away from the mission critical areas."

"Sir," another officer spoke up suddenly. "We have reports of a larger Rebel craft in the skies, different from the others. Corellian freighter of some kind, hexagon like shape, fights like a demon. It's circling the facility, probably looking to land inside the perimeter."

Damn, more enemy troops behind their lines, just what they didn't need right now. If that thing started ferrying people inside they'd find their defensive postions overrun. Only one thing they could do in that case.

"Send fighters to shoot that ship out of the sky, it is a priority target now," he ordered adamantly. "Do not let it-"

"Belay that order."

The booming voice came from the back of the room. Klusto didn't need to turn around know who it was, but he did it anyway. He saw Vader standing over the entire room, looking down on him.

"That ship is to be disabled only," he ordered. "Not destroyed."

"I see," Klusto was quick to relent. "Is there any reason why you-"

"If my instincts are correct it holds several key Rebel elements I need to properly interrogate," Vader explained. "I need them alive. Keep me apprised of their position and progress, but do not destroy."

Klusto saluted in response to the order. However, he decided to use the moment to voice his other concerns. They wouldn't last without men, surely Vader had more or some kind of idea. This confidence in victory had to come from somewhere. Of course that assumed it was confidence and not something else, but Klusto liked to hope for the former.

"Sir, we are being overrun at the moment," he tried to inform him. "We can't hold them back. We need more men, more boots on the ground. I'm out of reserves, I've commited everything. If you have anything you can offer-"

"I have commited what small forces I brought with me entirely to the fight as well," Vader informed him coldly. "If your soldiers cannot hold against these Rebels, it is not due to my lack of assistance. Their failure, and yours, is their own."

"They are not failures and they are not cowards, Lord Vader," he stated astutely. "I assure you of that. But we simply do not have the numbers to keep them back for much longer at this rate. We need more men, it's as simple as that."

Vader looked contemplative for a moment. It was a bit unsettling to see him thinking. Klusto had seen how the black armored man thought and dealt with problems. Both with Sakal and shortly after Alpha Predator One. Klusto did not look forward to what Vader had planned now. When he turned, obviously to offer and answer, the recently promoted General felt the unease as Vader looked at him. His gaze one of ruthless calculation and devious thought. It was amazing how much one could tell about someone who's expression was eternally hidden.

"You have one more reserve, General," he assured Klusto coldly. "Perhaps it is time to use them."

* * *

The first real face to face confrontation with Rebels and Arch was on the losing side of it. He wanted to say that it was all because they weren't playing fair, but given that their big lizard friend was out of the picture and they were using tech from the previous war it was hard to make that claim. No, they were tougher than they looked, that was for sure. The Academy really undersold their capabilities it seemed. They said most dissidents were just fragmented little groups, terrorist organizations that were largely small and insignificant. These guys didn't feel like disparate cells though, they felt like a proper army. An army using outdated tanks and walkers, but an army nonetheless.

They hadn't given them time to set up a signficant defense either. Once the big lizard got squashed, they rushed towards the gap he made. They all moved to try and block their way in, but the Rebels moved before they could set up proper barriers. The AT-ATs were depleted as a fighting force and it took shorter than expected for the Rebels to kill the remaining. At least they had managed to destroy some of the enemy armor before they got scrapped themselves.

Worse still were the Speeder bikes and those mini-walkers they rode on. They were fast, mobile, they struck quick and darted off before you could shoot them. He even saw one of the little mini-walkers leap a small barricade and crush some fellow Troopers. Mobility, numbers and speed, that was the enemy's strengths. It made holding them off nearly impossible, and once the infantry joined the charge proper it became even harder.

Just a few short minutes ago, Arch had been overjoyed at the sight of the Star Destroyer crushing the big grey lizard that had tormented him for so long. He felt himself and his friends who had died by the creature's hands avenged at last when the nose of the starship crashed into the beast's head. He wasn't the only one who started cheering at the sudden turnaround. Morale spiked up high, they had beaten the ace up their sleeve and the Rebels now held no cards. Now, as he crouched behind makeshift cover near the edge of the facility's main perimeter, Arch realized they had celebrated far too early.

Laser bolts cut into his cover, as he clutched his blaster tightly. Arch returned fire and managed to hit one of the attacking Rebels. The kill was little consolation, however, once he saw one of the Rebel AT-TEs lumbering into view. The walker's four pointed laser turrets started scanning the area, blasting away at any Stormtrooper nearby. This place was no longer safe, it was time to move back.

Arch picked up his gear and ran further into the facility, following other fellow Troopers who realised this was a futile effort. A few of the Troopers with heavy weapons like rockets stayed to fend off the AT-TE, but the Rebel infantry were too quick on the draw for a lot of them. The rockets that did hit, only did minor damage to some of the laser turrets.

At least the AT-TEs wouldn't be able to follow them into the facility proper. The Rebels would be on their own then. Maybe without their little retro army of war machines, they'd stand a better chance. For now, Arch just kept watch behind the corner of a building, firing quick bursts at the Rebels as they poured into the facility's perimeter.

Among the Rebels he suddenly spotted a large purplish alien, kinda looked like a wookie but not. He bounded out of the crowd of Rebels and began assaulting the Stormtroopers directly. He had this peculiar staff like weapon that he swung and parried around with relative ease. The tips were electrified and he managed to shock several nearby Troopers with them within moments of each other. He even used his foot to grabbed onto one Stormtrooper's face and throw him into a wall before turning and punching another.

There was another Rebel with him, wearing Mandalorian armor colored a hot pink with orange. She was smaller than her big brute of an alien friend, but her dual pistols were weilded with just as much skill as his staff. She picked off Stormtroopers one by one with devastating accuracy, switching targets on the fly. Then she pulled something from her belt, tossed into the air and shot at it as it fell towards a squad of Troopers. The airburst utterly devastated the small group of Imperial Soldiers, sending out a brillant flash of crimsons and blues that engulfed them.

Arch raised his blaster to fire on the Mandalorian girl, hoping to get a clean shot. As he pressed the trigger though the girl spotted him somehow and rolled to safety. She pointed his position out to her bigger companion, who tossed one of the Stormtroopers he was pummeling away to turn to him. His staff suddenly retracted into a rifle and the alien now began firing on Arch.

The Scout Trooper found himself pinned behind his corner as several laser bolts pelted his position. With no other alternative, he looked for a way out and spotted a doorway leading into the facility proper. He picked up his rifle, ran like mad towards the entrance while firing some sporadic shots and threw himself through the doorway as it opened.

He wasn't about to go back out there. The perimeter had been lost. He had to get to another defensive position inside the facility itself, one with better cover and more people to back him up. Luckily, he spotted a squad of Stormtroopers heading down the hallway with that same idea. He picked himself up and followed them best he could.

He hoped to find Kamo among the regrouping soldiers. The way things were going, they desperately needed him now. But Arch had a feeling in his gut that he wouldn't be. Part of him want to go after the old Clone, figure out what he was doing, what exactly had come over him. The other part of him told him that idea would be a waste of time. The only person who was going to find Kamo was whoever he was after now. All Arch could do realistically was try to survive this assault and hope his fire-forged friend would be alright without him.

"Of course he'll be alright," he said aloud, trying to reassure himself. "After everyhting we've been through, how can't he be?"

But at that moment, Arch remembered the look the old soldier had given him, the words he had spoken. Something had shook the old clone up, something that seemed worse than the big lizard they had been fighting. Arch couldn't help but think, what in the galaxy could possibly do that to a former Clone Trooper like Kamo?

* * *

The thick jungle brush was hard to navigate, but Ahsoka pressed on. If she was having this much trouble moving through the trees on a speeder bike then so was Ezra. She knew he couldn't have gotten much farther at this point. She didn't know how close she was to the crash site by now, she couldn't even see the smoke through the thick canopy. She imagined that she was more than halfway there at least by now. Which meant Ezra was probably just a bit further than that.

Sure enough, Ahsoka found she couldn't go any further. The twisting roots and tangled vines soon closed her way off. Just as she suspected, when she found she could move no further she discovered Ezra's speeder bike not too far off from her. Powering her vehicle down and sliding off the seat, she walked over to and crouched near the vacant ride. Scanning the forest floor, she saw footsteps and broken twigs heading off into the brush. Her nose suddenly picked up the scent of burnt vegetation and she trailed her gaze up to a group of vines and branches that had been sliced clean through. It was the telltale sign of a lightsaber being used as a bushwhacker.

At least Ahsoka wouldn't have to waste much energy cutting through the brush to follow after the wayward Padawan. She walked along the path the boy had cut for her, tracing his footsteps through the dirt and mud. It reminded of her time on similar planets in the Clone Wars, although these jungles weren't nearly as colorful and inviting as Felucia. Here there were no strange fern-like trees, just burly giant twisting trunks that stretched up high for miles. It was all very dark and disorienting.

She kept wondering how Ezra even knew where he was going in all this and concluded he was probably navigating through the Force and his instinct alone. The same instinct he claimed that had convinced him Godzilla still lived. Part of her wanted to believe he was right, that the great monster was still living and that they had not gotten him killed for their war. For all she knew though, Ezra's mind was clouded, probably by a sense of guilt. It was easy to lose yourself to your emotions, a lesson she learned the hard way many times before.

After another good ten or so minutes of walking, she finally started to hear the sound of a lightsaber slashing through the underbrush. She rushed along the makeshift path now, the sounds growing louder with each step. Finally she came to a stop as her eyes beheld the wayward Apprentice slicing away at vines and thick branches haphazardly. Ezra himself was grunting with every swing, he had been at this for awhile now.

"Seems your form could use some work," Ahsoka suggested aloud, catching Ezra's attention.

The young boy looked back for a brief moment before turning back to his work.

"I thought Kanan would've chased after me," he stated tersley.

"He wanted to, but I did not want your team down another man," she explained. "Hera and the others will need him more than the assault will need me at the moment."

She approached Ezra now, just as he cut through another thick group of branches and forced his way forward. Ahsoka kept in step behind him as he continued to march through the jungle. He didn't bother looking back at her as he continued talking.

"You can forget dragging me back," Ezra declared harshly. "I'm going to that crash site and you can't stop me."

"I could order you," she reminded him snidely. "I may not be your Master, but I am a Superior Officer."

"So why aren't you then?" He asked, furrowing brow as he looked back.

Ahsoka just shrugged.

"Well I know you won't listen for one and I'll be forced to keep running after you," she explained rather plainly. "We're already pretty deep into this jungle anyhow so it's going to take us awhile to get out of it either way. So we might as well push on to the crash site at this point. That way they'll be no doubt you wasted a lot of time."

Ezra just huffed and started nsaking his way through the thick trees, his lightsaber pointed out in front of him. Ahsoka followed close behind, arms crossed as she did. The kid was stubborn, that was for sure. He had an idea in his head and he wasn't about to discard it until it had run its course. A bit like a young her in someways, a very green, very impulsive her.

"You're putting a lot of effort into saving a dead monster you barely know," Ahsoka informed him.

"Jedi are supposed to help people, right?" He asked growling as he cut through more vines. "Does that not include giant monsters from other galaxies?"

"All life is sacred to a Jedi," Ahsoka quickly countered. "I still believe in that. But I'm not really a Jedi anymore and you have a long way to go. And as much as I share your hope that Godzilla survived somehow-"

Ezra turned with a growling look.

"It's not hope," he stated firmly. "I know he's alive. I told you, I feel it."

"Forgive me if I find it a bit difficult to believe you have that strong a connection with the creature after a very brief time conversing with it. And I use conversing in the loosest of terms," Ahsoka argued as she rushed to catch up to the young boy. "My point is, I want him to be alive. However, I have to look at the reality, Ezra. A starship crashed into him and exploded. He was weakened from the fighting. The chances are not high."

"Considering all the things Kanan, me and I'm guessing you've been through, that isn't very convincing," Ezra was quick to counter. "I felt it when we were connected through the Force. He's a survivor and he's been through worse than any of us."

Ahsoka did admit to herself that Ezra had a point. She had survived far more trying events. Well, maybe not more trying but certainly similar in fashion. Her memories of the Second Battle for Geonosis flashed before her mind. She had been trapped inside an experimental Separatist Tank after blowing up a factory around her and Barriss Offee. They survived by the slimmest of margins, but only because people were even looking for her, that her Master had been looking for her.

She pushed that memory aside, it only hurt and it did not matter in the grand scheme of things.

"Ezra, I admire your devotion to an ally, I do," she insisted. "But sometimes, even the best Jedi Instincts can be wrong. Your judgement can be clouded, it happens to all Jedi. It did happen to all Jedi in fact, it's why there's barely any of us left."

"If they're right, then he needs our help," Ezra steadfastly replied. "I'm not going to just abandon him. We owe it to him after we got him involved."

"If they're wrong, then you've abandoned your crew for nothing," Ahsoka warned. "Do you see how contradictory this is becoming?"

Ezra sliced through another thick layer of brush and then suddenly turned off his lightsaber. He turned to Ahsoka, finally dropping his scowl.

"He trusted us," He said sincerely. "We told him about the facility and the weapon. We gave him our word the planet would be his and we'd leave. He put trust in us, it wasn't much but it was something. We even helped him out a bit during the actual fight. That had to raise his expectations a bit. We can't just betray that. Not when it was the first bit of faith he probably ever had in our kind. That's important, isn't it?"

Trust was important. Ahsoka remembered a time when she wasn't certain of who or what she could trust. Her friends, her cause, the Order, her government, even herself, all cast into doubt. She had felt betrayed and it took a long time before she stopped feeling like that. She took a deep breath and sighed, the Padawan had a good point.

"Trust is hard to earn," she admitted. "Moreso if it feels as if the galaxy is against you."

Ahsoka moved in past Ezra, facing towards the next thick section of brush. Raising her hand up, feeling through the Force, she reached out to the vegetation before her. Soon it began to shift and bend, parting away from itself, clearing a path ahead of them. She motioned Ezra to her front with a nod of her head, his instincts had led him this far it would lead them the rest of the way.

"For the record I still think this will not end how you hope," she cautioned him. "But that's no reason to make it harder than should be. You deserve answers, if nothing else."

Ezra silently walked ahead, directing Ahsoka through the vines and underbrush. With her Force powers, the Jungle floor became more like a walk in the park. Much less cumbersome than using a Jedi's weapon like a machete for the majority of the trip. It wasn't that much of a strain, not for her. When you attuned yourself to nature and life itself, moving through it was as simple as falling off a speeder.

"Was this the kind of stuff they taught at the Jedi Temple?" Ezra asked her as they walked.

"There was little time in those days to really think about anything other than war sadly," Ahsoka sadly admitted. "When you're on your own though, hiding from an enemy that seeks your utter destruction, you have to learn other ways to survive. And in doing so, you remember what it was supposed to be about."

She recalled those days with a sense of bittersweet melacoly. Alone, with no temple to return to and few friends to fall back on. Places like Coruscant weren't safe, neither was the Togruta homeworld. Returning to her old family had crossed her mind, but she doubted they'd remember her or if she'd be able to do the same. Besides, no sense in placing them at risk for safe haven.

So she went to ground in the wilderness, recalling her days she spent on the run from Trandoshan hunters. If she could avoid those bloodthirsty lizards, Stormtroopers would be no problem at all. In doing so, she became more adept with parts of the Force she hadn't experienced during her long years as a soldier for the Republic. Being Self-Taught didn't make her an expert, but she had a good original teacher and therefore at least some kind of base to start off from.

"What exactly happened to you?" Ezra suddenly asked sheepishly.

Ahsoka looked at him surprised, cocking one of her eyebrows.

"Kanan didn't tell you?" She asked confused.

"He wasn't exactly up on all the news back when he was a kid," Ezra admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "I got the general idea, but I want to hear it from you."

Ahsoka looked back ahead, watching the vines and branches part for them as she followed the young boy.

"There's not much to tell," she informed him stoically. "If you want some angry tirade about the Council betraying me, that's faded into disillusionment more than anything. The Temple was my life, my home. I looked up to the Council and those close to it. I believed they were capable of anything and everything. That I could always trust them and any Jedi with anything."

"So, what happened?" Ezra asked, sounding like he somewhat already suspected what.

"The war dragged on and that belief became harder to sustain," Ahsoka replied with a slight growl. "Jedi compromised their principles, some turned dark or rogue. Public opinion shifted against us as we became the face of the war itself, the reason it dragged on. Things became less black and white, more muddled. I didn't even see what was happening until it was too late."

Ahsoka stopped briefly, as did Ezra. He turned back to her, seeing her gaze staring off into the distance.

"I was blamed for someone's death and no one believed I was innocent save for a few," she continued thoughtfully. "I did my best to prove my innocence, to the Council and to the Republic. No one believed in me though. They stripped me of rank, tried me for treason, almost sentenced me to death. Were it not for my Master finding out the real culprit, I would not be here. But even being proven innocent did not make the hurt go away, not when you find out you were framed by someone you considered a friend."

Barriss, even now Ahsoka kept thinking of the why? Was she just in the way? Was it just convienent? Did she even feel sorry? Did she fall that low that fast? It was hard to believe and still was.

"The Council admitted to their failure, admitted they were wrong," she continued mournfully. "I think they would've even made me a Knight shortly afterwards for my resolve, for facing the trial before me. It just wasn't enough though. I couldn't go back, not after that."

"But they said they were sorry," Ezra noted, sounding a bit sorrowful as he did. "They made a mistake."

"Exactly, the Council made a mistake," Ahsoka reiterated firmly. "The most powerful Jedi in the Galaxy couldn't tell I was innocent. They saw me as a traitor first. If they could be so easily fooled, so misled, then what did that say about them? They couldn't trust me, it was a foreshadowing of what was to come. The Jedi weren't what I believed they were and because of that I couldn't stay."

She suddenly looked straight ahead, her eyes narrowing towards a part of the brush.

"Sometimes, you need to follow your own path," she explained. "It's not always clear to you what that is at first, but when the moment comes, you know it."

She raised up both her hands and in a sweeping motion, a wave of Force Energy rippled across the brush. Trees and vines bent away, forming a long winding path through the remainder of the jungle before them. When the wave subsided, Ahsoka let her arms fall to her side and she sighed.

"The biggest moment of my entire life as a Jedi was leaving it behind," she concluded.

"Do you regret it?" Ezra asked curiously. "Being a Jedi, I mean."

That was a new question for sure. She thought he meant it in reference to her leaving at first. That query was a complicated one. Leaving a life behind rarely had clear-cut emotions surrounding it. She had no problems with expressing her feelings on said former life, however.

"Never," Ahsoka assured him, motioning her eyes to the sky. "I have many regrets, but that is not among them. I am no longer a Jedi, but every lesson that life taught me I've kept close since. You can't ever really leave the life I guess. Look where I am now. It's almost like it's a second chance, another opportunity to be the person I wanted to be when I was still idealistic and young."

"I guess I know what that feels like," Ezra responded with a shrug. "For the record, I'm glad you're with us. It's nice to have someone else who remembers being among the Jedi."

She looked over to Ezra, offering a small smile.

"It was certainly something to be among legends," she admitted with a light laugh. "Hopefully one day, we'll be able to walk the old Temple's halls once again. For now, we have a job to do."

They kept moving forward along the newly created path until they finally reached its end. The jungle vanished and was replaced by a clearing of burnt trees and exposed earth. Dotting the landscape before them were several metric tons of metallic debris scattered across the blacked dirt forming around a wide crater. At the center of the carnage was a mountain of smoking metal, all that remained of the massive Star Destroyer that had crashed here. And somewhere beneath all of that lay Godzilla.

"Well, we're here," Ahsoka noted, taking in the destruction around them. "I guess the next order of business is to dig through all this the wreckage then?"

She noticed that Ezra was already taking off towards the large towering heap of scrap that was once a starship.

"Yep, right again," she sighed, following after him. "Typical, Ahsoka. Even when you're not the Padawan, you're getting dragged around everywhere."

* * *

Hera didn't know why she was suddenly so popular with everyone, but the TIE fighter tails she picked up were most unwelcome. There was no way she was going to be able to land with these Imperials hounding her, but losing them wasn't as easy as it should've been. Chopper continued to fire back at them from the rear gun, but after the initial kill the rest were avoiding his crosshairs. Jetty wasn't faring much better as the TIEs stayed away from the top of the ship. Hera wasn't sure what they were trying to accomplish, but a lot of the hits she was taking seemed focused on her engines. Were they trying to disable her and not outright take her out? Whatever the case, she realized there was only one way to give Jetty a chance to hit something.

"Boys, you better hold onto something," she warned. "And Jetty, keep your digits on those triggers!"

Hera turned the _Ghost_ a hard roll, turning the ship upside down as it flew. In the top turret, Jetty clamped his fingers down hard on the triggers and let off several blasts. The sudden roll caught the TIEs in pursuit off guard, as did the sudden second spray of fire. In a panic, the TIEs moved to avoid the shots and forgot about Chopper in the rear gun. The more seasoned astromech kept his cool despite the vertigo and targetted the TIEs as they moved in front. His shots killed two of the fighters as Hera turned the ship back right side up.

"Is everyone's bolts still attached to them?" She asked her droid companions.

"_Mostly,"_ Jetty replied groggily.

Chopper just whirrled and grumbled. As he did, more of the TIEs got hit from an outside source. Laser bolts cut into them from above, setting the ablaze. They tumbled down to the facility below, crashing into some of the buildings. Hera soon realized who their savior was when an ARC-170 coasted along side her.

"Thanks for the cover," the twi'lek told her.

"_No big deal,"_ the Raider leader insisted over the radio as she leaned toward's Hera in her cockpit. _"Extra kills on my scorecard either way. Now let's get you groundside. There's a pad over there I can clear for you. Follow me in."_

Moira turned sharply to the left and started raking fire across the landing pad where a small squad of Stormtroopers stood. Fire crashed across the pad, cutting the soldiers down as they fled. Moira then quickly shifted targeted and fired a missile into a nearby Turbolaser tower. It slammed into the magazine and sent the gun up in flames.

The pad clear of potential hostiles, Moira peeled off and let Hera come in for a landing. The _Ghost _halted above the pad and slowly descended towards it, the landing gear extending as they closed in. The ship touched down with a slight thump and Hera quickly jumped out of her seat. They had already been delayed enough, they couldn't afford to waste more time. Her crew was in this chaos somewhere and she had to link up with them. Grabbing her pistol as she rushed to the off-ramp, she found Jetty and chopper already waiting for her on the pad.

"Alright, we may be inside but we're only half done," she reminded the two droids, mostly to Jetty though. "We still need to erase all the data related to the project and destroy the prototype. Fulcrum gave me the location for her contact inside the facility. If they're still alive, they can help us accomplish both tasks while the main task force blows the reactor core."

"Roger, roger," Jetty responded, giving a thumbs up. "How far do you think your crew got inside?"

"Depends on whether or not Kanan's activated his lightsaber yet," Hera admitted. "With any luck they're not too far from here."

Just then, Moira's ARC-170 flew past them at a low altitude. She waggled her wings and then contacted Hera.

"_I'll have my boys run overwatch and remain on station for a fire mission,"_ she stated. _"If you find this freaky monster cyborg clone, radio them up and they'll level whatever building it's inside."_

"Appreciate it, Moira," Hera contacted. "Stay sa-"

Suddenly, a laser-bolt slashed into Moira's left engine. A small fire started and smoke started trailing from the Raider Leader's backside. The fighter itself start uneasily coasting through the air.

"Moira!" Hera called back up. "Moira, are you alright?"

"_No, I'm not,"_ the pilot replied with a frustrated growl. _"Imps caught me with a lucky hit and now my engines are burning. I gotta set her down somewhere or she's gonna blow. Don't worry about me, I've crash landed in worse places. Just find your team and get this done! Over and out!"_

Moira's ARC-170 banked left and started heading for the ground. Hera hoped she'd land safe and that she'd be able to handle herself. She turned to Jetty, wondering if he wanted to go and help her. He guessed her question before she asked.

"Moira will contact me and the other Raiders if she needs help," he said somewhat reluctantly. "We should do what she says, continue the mission."

"Okay, follow me," Hera nodded, motioning to the ramp that would take them to the ground floor. "Stay together and watch out for Stormtroopers. They could be anywhere in this mess."

Hera tried to keep her thoughts on her own crew and not Moira. Kanan was already in the middle of this chaos without Ezra, she couldn't afford a side-mission right now. Regardless, if Moira did call for help, she was already thinking of ways to get it to her in time. Until then, they had a Rebel Contact to find somewhere in this hellhole and a cybernetic abomination to destroy.

* * *

The turbolaser cannon fired a constant stream of bolts, pinning the Rebels down in the choked hallway. Arch kept himself hunkered down just a few feet from the chattering rapid-fire weapon. He wished he was behind it instead, as even here he felt too exposed. Every now and then he saw a Rebel go down trying to take shots at the gunner. Just as quickly he saw someone else rush to take his downed friend's spot. Arch fired a few sporadic shots of his own, but to little avail. They weren't retreating and they were hardly firing back.

Arch wasn't sure what they were waiting for, most of the building had been overtaken by now. The Rebels knew they were still disorganized in the wake of the previous battle and were using it to their every advantage. They rushed inside after fleeing Stormtroopers and then blasted their way into neighbouring buildings that were better defended. They swarmed every hall, making it impossible to set up any real defence and if they couldn't take your building they seemed to just go around you, risking you getting cut off if you didn't abandon your position anyway. Was that what these guys were doing now? Just waiting for their friends to flank them or get the call to press forward? Both of those possibilities did not ease Arch's mind.

As soon as he thought of them though, they were both proven wrong. He spotted a Rebel soldier down the hall using some kind of large metal plate as a shield. Arch opened fire on it, only for his bolts to bounce off. Then a Rebel with a rocket launcher popped up from behind the shield and fired his payload at the turret itself. Arch ducked his head low and into cover as the projectile flew past him and collided witht he turbolaser. The gunner screamed in pain as the fireball consumed him and the blast ripped his weapon apart.

With the smoking remains of the turret's position staring him dead in the face, Arch jumped to his feet and scrambled over the debris. Laserbolts chased after him as he fled, rushing down the hallway and through a door that led to a larger courtyard. He could see other barracks quarters across from him, with fellow Stormtroopers already firing at the Rebels that were pushing towards them. Arch threw himself behind a barricade as he neared friendly lines and then turned to open fire on the enemy once more.

The barracks section of the facility had almost been entirely overrun by now. It was the first stop in a steady push towards the Command Center. Arch could only assume that was where they were headed. Without their leaders, the Stormtroopers would remain in disarray, their various squads spread out with no unifying strategy. Not that there was one beyond desperately trying to hold the line. The Rebels just weren't giving them a chance to breathe or time to think. It was a pretty simple strategy and so far it seemed to be working.

Arch had to stop firing when a barrage of laserbolts slashed into his barricade. Rebels advanced on his position in a pair of Speeder bikes that had somehow snaked through the streets of the complex. As suddenly as they showed up though, their riders were struck by a stream of electricity that blasted them off their machines. The drivers fell to the dirt twitching and sparking as Arch's savior landed right next to him and pushed his head down.

"Devo, am I glad to see you," Arch declared jubilantly. "Any sign of Kamo?"

"No, and sadly we don't have the time to look for him," the Jumptrooper told him frantically. "Listen, this main push we're facing isn't the real problem. My fellow Jumpers are reporting that these guys are just pinning us down. They know if we scatter they got an open path to the Command Center and we can't lose that. I don't think it's what they're after though."

Of course it wasn't, they were after the reason this place was built, whatever that was. It was just that before, Arch figured they were intending to take the Control Center first. Then they'd secure the site and grab what they could before leaving. Devo was suggesting they had another plan entirely though. If they weren't after Command, they weren't here to secure anything.

"Whatever they want here, they know they can't cart it away," Devo reasoned. "I wager they plan to destroy the whole compound. That's why a lot of forces got diverted to key areas of the facility."

"Like the reactor," Arch concluded for him. "That thing goes, the whole complex follows."

"And while we're here preoccupying these guys, smaller strike teams are bypassing us and heading deeper into the facility," Devo continued. "We just don't have enough people to cover this complex, Arch. We've got too many places to defend and they only got a few specific places to hit!"

Not a good situation for them and all for a giant science lab with a purpose that still alluded them. Arch was hating this whole operation more and more by the second. They needed anew plan and fast.

"What do we do?" He asked Devo.

"I got my Jumptroopers securing the path to the reactor," the Lieutenant explained. "Meanwhile, I think it would be best if we fell back to closer near the Command and Control station. We need better ground and that structure has better defences than these barracks at the moment."

"What about their main objective?" Arch asked again. "Did Command tell you what it might be? Where it's located? Maybe we can help defend that."

And maybe Kamo was already there and they could help him. It was a longshot, but where else would the old timer be? He looked like he knew something they didn't. Maybe he got special orders and was told to come alone? It would certainly explain a lot.

"Command hasn't told me anything," Devo answered regretfully. "I keep calling them up and all I get is silence. Not static, silence, they're just not responding. No idea why."

"Damn it," Arch growled. "How the hell are we supposed to defend this place if we don't know where to go or what we're defending?"

An explosion stopped the conversation cold, as a large chunk of a building blew apart from the inside. Stomping out from inside was a lumbering old AT-TE. It trained its weapons on the Imperial positions and fired away. A whole squad vanished in a fiery explosion. Arch looked towards the old walker and saw a number of figures moving with it. As he peered through his macrobinoculars he recognized one of them, the large hairy alien with the bizzare staff weapon. He looked towards Devo, who also had his eyes on the AT-TE's position and the very same alien.

"Hold up here, get ready to move," Devo told him as he started up his jetpack once more. "I got some unfinished business."

The Lieutenant roared up into the air, fire spewing from his thrusters as he did so. Arch wasn't sure what had made him jet off into the sky and seemingly towards the enemy lines. All he knew was that he was alone again and still no closer to figuring out what any of this was about. He was starting to wonder if he ever would.

* * *

Despite its age, the AT-TE was still as tough a machine as ever. The driver powered through three structures, creating a new avenue for the Rebels to push up through. Now that they had some heavy guns up at the frontline again, they had these Stormtroopers dead to rights.

Kanan used the machine's giant foot for cover as he fired at the Imperials from across the way. He managed to score one in the shoulder, but taking down Bucketheads didn't really matter at the moment. They had the bulk of the Stormtroopers tied up fighting their main force, just as Ahsoka had hoped. Their smaller squads were already bypassing the main fight, heading towards their real objectives. Once Hera got here, they'd join them and help destroy everything related to the Cyber-Zillo Beast program. For now, they just had to keep beating back the Imperials.

The AT-TE began to move out of the wreckage of the building and into the counrtyard slowly. Kanan kept in step with it, as did Sabine and Zeb. Kanan's leg started taking fire from a Stormtrooper sharpshooter behind a barricade. With careful aim, Kanan targetted the enemy sniper and fired as he readied another shot. The Stormtrooper went down a split second later from a shot to the head.

As their walker lurched past a demolished building, destroyed by what Kanan could only guess was a hailfire missile, the three crewmates of the _Ghost_ rushed into its ruins and rook up positions within. Their fellow Rebels weren't too far behind as the Stormtroopers again began to fall slowly back.

"At this rate we'll take down their Command Center before we blow up their cyborg monster," Sabine noted as she fired her dual blasters at the enemy.

"Don't count on it," Kanan warned. "The Empire is going to stabalize this mess eventually. We need to be sure our people can keep them tied down long enough when they do. Priority still remains the Zillo-Beast."

A furious barrage of laserbolts struck their ruined building. The trio ducked down as green tracers perforated the area. Kanan looked up briefly to see the source, a turbolaser turret in the window of one of the soldier barracks still standing. He ducked his head back down and looked to Sabine.

"Can you toss a grenade in there from this distance?" He asked.

"Of course I can," Sabine replied, feigning an insulted tone. "We'll need to wait for his gun to overheat first."

"If I know my Imperial hardware," Zeb started began slowly. "That should be about... now!"

The gun stopped firing, Sabine pulled out a grenade, activated it and chucked it at the window. It flew into the open hole where it exploded mere seconds later. The gun did not fire again. Before they could revel in that victory though, something came speeding at them from the side. It rocketed into Zeb and carried him into what little remained of the ruined structure's wall. They both crashed into it, smashing through the ruin before falling back to the ground outside. Kanan and Sabine moved to get a look at what had happened and saw Zeb quickly get to his feet and face his attacker. It was a Jumptrooper armed with an Arc Caster.

The Imperial suddenly fired at Zeb, but the Lasat moved just a bit quicker than his trigger finger. Zeb dove to the side and forward, extending his bo-rifle as he did. He struck the Jumptrooper in the head and then knocked the weapon out of his hands. The Imperial was now unarmed, but still prepared to fight. He punched Zeb in the face once and then twice before the Lasat managed to kick him away.

As this was going on, Kanan saw a small squad of Stormtroopers approaching the brawl. Sabine noticed them as well and they both ran out of the ruins as fast as they could. Both of them started firing furious shots at the incoming Bucketheads. Two went down in quick succession from Sabine's Dual Blasters while a third went down from a well-aimed shot from Kanan.

Zeb now spotted the charging Stormtroopers as well. When the Jumptrooper came at him again, he grabbed the guy's head with his foot and struck him in the chest with the end of his bo-rifle's shock stick. He then retracted the staff and let loose with several shots at the remaining Stormtroopers. As he did though, the Jumptrooper got back on his feet. In a run, he scooped up his Arc Caster, slung it over his back and rocketed into Zeb to grab him from behind.

Once again, the two of them were airborne. Once again, it did not last long. As both Zeb and his attack crashed into a nearby barracks. Although this time Zeb managed to force the Imperial to collide with the building first. It was mere moments later when Sabine and Kanan saw Arc Caster streams blasting out of the ruined roof. The struggle was already starting a new.

The pair rushed to the back door of the barracks, only to find two Stormtroopers already waiting there. They opened fire on the pair, forcing them both to hit the dirt and get behind a small barricade. However, their interference didn't last long, as the bucketheads were struck with several shots from behind. Kanan looked to where the shots had come from and saw the very welcome sight of Hera, Chopper and the Raiders' Battledroid rushing towards them across the battlefield. Both he and Sabine got up to meet them at the barrack's back door.

"Zeb's in trouble," Kanan stated.

"Yeah, we saw," Hera replied hurriedly. "Hard to miss actually. Let's move!"

Hera slammed her fist on the door switch, forcing it open. They then all rushed inside, guns at the ready. It didn't take them long to spot the Jumptrooper and Zeb pounding each other against the walls. The Jumptrooper had lost his Arc Caster again and he was trying to force his way past Zeb to get to it. Suddenly he activated his jetpack and forced Zeb out of the way, just as the others reached him. The Jumptrooper landed, grabbed the caster in a roll and pointed the weapon at the band of Rebels.

"Drop it!" Kanan ordered, their blasters pointed at him. "We've got you covered!"

Suddenly the door behind the Jumptrooper burst open and four extra Stormtroopers rushed in with their own weapons at the ready. The jetpack-wearing Imperial looked around briefly, probably smiling under his helmet.

"I say that makes things a bit less one-sided, don't you?" He asked.

The Stormtroopers of course fired first, forcing the Rebels to scatter to the cover of nearby overturned beds and bits of debris kicked up by the brawl with Zeb. Jetty kept his head low, still not much for combat anymore, while the others shot laserbolts back.

However, the firefight didn't last very long. Suddenly, everyone started hearing the sound of panicked and terrified screaming behind the Stormtrooper squad. Even the Jumptrooper's guard dropped as he turned to see what was going on. Through the open doorway, they spotted the source of the commotion first. Rampaging from within the Imperial Lines, forcing their way through, came a sizeable small army of inhuman looking creatures. Brownish scales, lanky arms, rounded mouths lined with sharp teeth. They swarmed over the Stormtroopers, charging forward in a screeching horde.

Soon they were inside the barracks themselves, leaping at the Stormtroopers first, grabbing onto them and beating them into the ground with their many arms. Kanan now got a better look at some of them. They were like the Zillo-Beast from the old footage, but they were smaller and different. They were deformed reflections of their much bigger ancestor. Some had an extra fourth arm, another had the correct number of three but they were all in the wrong places, still another had no legs and slithered about on its tail like a snake. Kanan guessed right away these were clones, reject ones no doubt that were simply mindless vicious killers.

The Jumptrooper fired on one with his Arc Caster, shocking it with the full power of a thousand volts. The creature looked in pain, but shrugged off the voltage eventually. It lunged at him, barely missing him with its fourth misshapen arm. The Jumptrooper continued firing on the other deformed clones, trying to get them off his men, while still more bypassed the Imperials altogether and followed the four-armed attacked towards new meat, the Rebels.

"Just what we needed, another damn surprise," Sabine growled, unloading both her blasters into the fast of one of the abominations.

The Rebels quickly began to fall back, firing their blasters at the approaching horde. Before long they were running out of the barracks like mad. Jetty was among the first out, not willing to be torn apart by the vicious creatures. Chopper followed after him, hollering a series of angry worts and whirls.

Zeb hung back a bit and swung his Bo-rifle in its staff mode at their mutated assailants. The shock power of the weapon seemed to force them back, but one got close enough to grab the staff along the midsection and started a small tug of war with Zeb. It's three disgusting misshapen eyes locked with the Lasat's and then it suddenly unfurled it's mouth into a multi-hinged mandible fringe. Zeb quickly butted the beast in the third eye with his forehead and forced the mutant back. He then shoved his staff into the monster's mouth and let it electrocute the abomination until it started to smoke. Then he high-tailed it out of there.

Hera covered Zeb's back with Sabine, blasting laserbolts into the door way as the Lasat ran out. Sabine then tossed a short fused explosive into the barracks. It exploded just as the monsters tried to push their way through the exit, setting the entire back end of the barracks ablaze.

However, the sad creatures they had just exterminated were only a fraction of the full force. Looking around, they saw several hundred more charging into the Rebel lines. They tackled their dissadent comrades, pulled them from their speeders, shrugged off their blaster fire with ease and began ripping and tearing at them. Further back, Kanan could see the same was happening to the Stormtroopers. These things had no allegiance and no preferred targets. They were all fair game.

"As if the risk of fighting the big one was bad enough," Zeb panted worriedly. "Where did they all come from?"

"Doesn't matter," Kanan stated. "We still have a job to do. Hera and me will go find Fulcrum's contact and destroy that data. The rest of you hold the fort here until further notice. Fall back to the buildings, do not engage these things out in the open. Our only hope is clogging them up in the hallways where their numbers won't matter."

"We'll do what we can," Sabine promised. "Just stay safe you two."

The group split off now, Hera and Kanan going one way and the others headed back to the Rebel lines. As they ran, Hera looked to Kanan and then his belt.

"I think you may need your lightsaber today after all," she told him worriedly. "It's the only thing we got that will probably cut through these things."

"Worth a shot," Kanan replied, taking his saber and assembling it mid-run.

As he got the pieces in place, they reached the end of the Stormtrooper barracks area and entered the mess of buildings of the facility once more. One of the reject creatures, missing a tail and only sporting two arms in order to walk lunged at them from above. Kanan activated his lightsaber and sliced at the creature as it descended. He cut it in two with ease and let the body drop to the floor.

"Let's keep moving," he told Hera. "That contact's chance of getting killed just doubled with these things around."

* * *

Arch could see the Rebels falling back, but that wasn't much comfort now. The cause of their retreat was also what was currently imperiling him. He had no idea where these strange creature came from, but they were not friendly. He watched as squads of men we swarmed by these insane deformed mutants and began tearing them apart. Laserbolts just bounced off their scales, taking multiple hits to finally take one down. Many Stormtroopers didn't get that opportunity.

Those who didn't scatter or run towards command, tried to get to high ground. Not that it would do them much good, the creatures just climbed after them. It was what was currently happening to Arch himself. He had scrambled onto the top of a barracks building, as everyone else ran for cover. The problem was, now he had no place to go.

He fired a few bolts at the encroaching horde to keep them back. He aimed for ones with open mouths when he spotted them, hoping their lack of protection there would make it easier to kill them. The swrming little mutant creatures were legion though. One getting shot in the mouth and tumbling back to the ground did little to stop the others.

Arch started to panic and his mind started to race. Were these the things he had been protecting? Was this what the Empire was trying to stop the Rebels from getting? He was going to die here so these things wouldn't fall into Rebel hands? Why had they created these things in the first? How did they get loose? And why was any Stormtrooper's life worth any of these things?

The fear of death turned to anger and rage. He continued shooting at the vicious little monsters swarming the roof, intending to take as many with him as he could. If these things were so important to the Empire that he had been sent here to die protecting them, fine. He's kill a few, just to spite the leaders in charge who got him stuck here.

Then suddenly, he heard a rocketing sound. Bursting from a nearby barracks, speeding through the skies, a battered and beaten Lieutenant Devo raced towards him. Arch saw his chance and waved the speeding Jumptrooper towards him. Devo spotted him and ducked low. He stretched out his hands towards the Private and Arch reached up in kind. He grabbed onto the Jumptrooper's hands and was carried clear of the barracks' roof as one of the creatures leapt for him.

"I thought for a minute you were dead," Arch said looking up to the officer as they haphazardly flew through the air.

"Not... yet," Devo groaned.

Arch got a better look at the man's armor now, notcing it was scratched and chewed beyond belief. Those things had done a number on him for sure, but it wasn't the only damage. A lot of his armor was also singed, like it had been caught in a backdraft blast or something.

"We gotta get to higher ground," Devo claimed. "Get to the Command Center. Regroup with whoever is left."

It sounded like the only real option they had. Devo flew low over the buildings, unable to get them much higher off the ground. As they rocketed along though, they could hear the roaring and growling of the monstrous creatures below. They were all over the facility now, saturating the area.

"At least the Rebels will have to deal with them too," Arch noted.

"Small comfort," Devo added.

Then, as they passed a large communications tower, closing in on the Command Center, something jumped from on high. It was one of the vicious little mutants. It grabbed onto Devo's back and started biting into him. Screaming in pain, Devo lurched and turned in the air. Arch tried to hold on but was wrenched free from the Lieutenant's grasp by all the tumbling.

He fell onto the roof of a building below, hitting it hard and rolling a number of feet before stopping. He quickly got to his feet after his fall and shook it off. He then scanned the skies and soon spotted Devo once more. The Jumptrooper was beating back the abomination biting into him, but it was of little use. The monster had a tight grip on him, refusing to relinquish it.

Then, they went in. The monster damaged the jetpack or Devo got knocked out, Arch couldn't tell. All he knew was one second they were flying, the next they started falling. They slammed at a freefall speed into the side of a building, the pack exploded on impact.

Arch fell to his knees in disbelief. He wanted to scream, but he couldn't. He was all out at this point. Devo was gone. He was alone again. And he still had no idea why.

* * *

Klusto watched the screens display the holographic images the probes were catching. He bared witness to every horror he had just helped unleash. Stormtrooper and Rebel alike were prey to the Rejects, meat to satisfy their hungry or psychotic urges. Those who weren't torn apart or mauled were beaten to death. Klusto turned to Darth Vader, his face one of abject self-disgust.

"I am not at all... confident in this course of action, sir," he stated.

"It is too late to back out now, General," Vader decreed.

Klusto pointed to the images on the holo, the horror still visible on his face.

"We're killing just as many of our people as we are the Rebels," he stated. "At this rate we'll be stuck dealing with the Rejects entirely. Not much of an improvement to be honest."

"If the soldiers still alive out there are unable to survive a pack of mindless creatures, then their deaths are simply culling the weak from the ranks of the strong," Vader declared adamantly. "When the Rebel numbers are sufficiently halved in a similar manner, we shall activate the second phase of my plan which will wipe out what remains of both them and the Rejects. I will activate the prototype."

Klusto looked wide-eyed, had it really come that that now?

"It could be damaged, sir," he warned. "The Rebels still have a lot of heavy weapons out there."

"They will be crushed easily enough," Vader assured him. "Think of it as the field test I originally intended to conduct. I have already spoken with Doctor Boll, the control terminal is already prepared. I shall direct the prototype myself and see to it that the cyborg finishes the job it's lesser versions started. Once that is complete, we shall move all relevant data and material, the prototype and critical staff included, off planet. This location has been compromised already, production must be moved."

"I see," Klusto concurred, sounding more defeated than anything. "Is there anything more I can do at this point, sir?"

Vader just stared at him for a long time. Klusto worried what he was about to say. Had he outlived his usefulness? Was he about to die as well? He waited for a death sentence, but instead nothing came. Then Vader finally spoke.

"You will be attached to the new production facility," the Dark Lord assured. "Your... experience may be useful. Consider it a chance to prove your worth by your own merits, General. Now, excuse me. I must prepare."

With a swish of his cape, Vader started walking out of the room. Klusto waiting for him to be gone before he allowed himself to think again. Maybe it was the paranoia talking, but he no longer felt safe around the Emperor's right hand man. He could very well be capable of sensing what resided in the forefront of your mind. Considering his first fleeting thoughts revolved around him hoping a few of those creatures attacked Vader while he was out there, perhaps it was best he had erred on the side of caution.

He quick shook the negative thoughts away and thought of what options were left open to him. The Command Center was probably the most secure building left in the facility. If only he could get more people in here, they'd be safe from the rampaging monsters outside. He suddenly thought of Sionver, still out there, probably in her office or lab. She had probably just concluded final checks on the prototype not long ago. He hoped she was safe from the Rejects, but another thought crossed his mind.

The Rebels would probably be after scientists, people who worked on the Zillo-Beast project. They could use that knowledge to their advantage. Force people like Sionver to build them their own version of the Cyborg Zillo-Beast. The thought of them succeeding in creating one was unlikely, but if they wanted to try then kidnapping Doctor Boll would be a good start.

Quickly, Klusto activated a terminal, he ran the personnel locator program and quickly found that she was still in her personal lab. Not at all secure from the Rebel strike teams moving about in the chaos or the Rejects. He turned off the terminal and checked his blaster. It probably wouldn't be much against those mutant clones, but it was better than nothing.

He had already lost one friend, he wasn't about to lose someone else he cared for today too. Sionver could probably handle herself against the Rebels, but those Rejects were another matter. Either way, he wasn't going to take the chance. He'd find her, get her to a secured area and lock it down. Whatever happened after that, he'd make sure she at least got out of here.

"Officer," he suddenly shouted across the room to one of the Lieutenants. "I want you to send out a command to all Stormtroopers not actively guarding critical areas. Fall back to the Command Center, keep it secure from both the enemy and the Rejects. We must hold this position at all costs."

"Understood, Command... uh, I mean, General, sir," the Lieutenant awkwardly replied.

With that, Klusto left the room, leaving his officers to take charge. There wasn't much to do here anyway, he wasn't running this facility anymore, Vader was. He didn't care about being able to command the Cyborg Zillo-Beast when deployed. He didn't care he was now a General. He had to reach Sionver, he had to save her at least. Nothing else mattered until he had accomplished that.

* * *

The Star Destroyer had exploded on impact with the ground, but its main body was relatively intact. Sifting through its wreckage was difficult, even with the Force. This was especially the case with Ezra, who simply did not have as much experience lifting heavy objects without assitance from Kanan. Ahsoka found she needed to help him out just to keep the search going at a steady rate. They hadn't found any trace of Godzilla's body anywhere else within the crash site. They could only assume he was buried under the dead spaceship's remains. Ahsoka still did not have high hopes they would find anything, she still sensed nothing even this close to ground zero.

"You think we'd have found something by now," Ezra grumbled as they moved another piece of metal bulkhead. "Like a finger or foot."

"He may be half buried in the ground," Ahsoka suggested. "The Destroyer did hit him pretty hard."

Ezra didn't seem deterred by that, as he kept removing debris best he could. At this rate though, even with Ahsoka helping him, it would take weeks to get through the rubble. They had to find a way to speed this up. For a moment, Ahsoka thought of just dragging the young Padawan away instead of wasting more time. She decided against it though. Ezra wouldn't leave until he saw a body and that meant finding it. There had to be a better way though.

"We're not going to Force Push our way through all of this in the next hour," Ahsoka stated as she scanned the wreck. "We need a new strategy."

"What are you thinking?" Ezra asked out of genuine curiosity.

"That this ship, for all the damage it has sustained, it's super structure looks relatively intact," she suggested. "If we could find an entrance we could follow one of the corridors deeper into the wreck. As long as there isn't a dead end, it should get us closer to where Godzilla is."

Ahsoka began walking around the outer structure, looking around for a weakpoint or some kind of opening. Ezra followed after her, doing the same. She figured they'd come across an airlock or an exposed hallway. That was their best ticket in. She didn't know how deep they'd have to walk to actually find Godzilla, but she imagined it wouldn't be too far. He was a pretty big animal. At least they wouldn't have to dig for another week.

Before long, Ahsoka started tapping on the crumpled boilerplate, hoping to hear something hollow. No avail, they just kept hitting solid bulkhead. She considered just cutting their way through, but with no guarantee they'd find a shaft or hallway on the otherside it was too risky. They could end up walking into a vacant turbolift or gash. Then they'd fall through who knew how many jagged bits of metal on the way down. She suspected she'd find something eventually though, it would just take awhile.

As they traversed the broken exterior of the wreck, Ahsoka looked back at Ezra. He was searching just as hard for a possible entrance and getting a bit frustrated as he did. She suspected he was about to get impatient and start digging through debris again. To counter that, Ahsoka decided to ask a question that had been bugging her in the hopes of easing his thoughts.

"Tell me," she asked. "Why are you so eager to find Godzilla alive?"

"I thought I explained that before," Ezra questioned back. "We owe it to him."

"And yet I sense there is more to it than that," she answered in kind.

Ezra just sighed and rubbed the back of his head.

"I don't know," he began. "You would probably just think I'm being a stupid kid or something."

"We were all stupid kids once, Ezra," Ahsoka informed him dutifully. "If I criticized you for that I'd be a hypocrite. Now please, share."

Shrugging, Ezra caught up to Ahsoka and walked beside her.

"When we were in contact with him, I felt something," he forlornly admitted. "A lot of pain, mostly. He's suffered a lot and he hurt a lot of people in retaliation. He didn't care about anything, he just reacted to what was around him. It was about survival first and everything else second. But there was something else, deeper in there that I could sense."

"What?" Ahsoka prodded.

"Loneliness," Ezra offered back. "He's the only one of his kind, the last of them. When he was reawakened, it was into a world he didn't understand. One that didn't care about his pain and he lashed out against it. He knew was alone, that he was the last and that no one cared. They just wanted him gone and forgotten. That fed his anger more and it led him away down a darker path."

Ahsoka raised a brow, curious by the Padawan's words.

"Are you saying he could've been something else?" She asked. "One of his titles he professed to was the God of Destruction."

"Yeah, but he wasn't stricyly tied to that one," Ezra argued. "We saw him do more than just destroy. He stopped enemies that threatened the whole planet. He attacked far worse monsters than him. That's probably not much of an excuse for the other things he's done, but he's not evil. He's just... lost I think."

"I doubt he would agree with your assesment," Ahsoka warned. "He doesn't strike me as someone who admits to being in the wrong. Then again, he is still an animal and it's hard to place our morality onto a creature of nature. I'm just saying, he'd probably deny all of this."

Ezra nodded pretty quickly at that, accepting that this wasn't an easy case of black, white or even grey morality.

"It doesn't make it any less true," he added suddenly. "I think deep down, there's more to him than a desire for vengence and destruction. This is just all he knows, all he expects. Maybe if someone on his world bothered to help him, showed him another way or gave him a chance. I don't know, maybe things would've been different."

Ahsoka nodded her head, finally understanding this sudden obssession.

"He reminds you of yourself, doesn't he?" She asked, stopping Ezra in his tracks.

The young Jedi to be turned to her, a serious expression across his face.

"I was selfish," he admitted. "When my parents were taken, I didn't care about anyone but me. I liked sticking it to them, getting a bit of revenge now and then. But it didn't matter to me if they left Lothal or stayed until the sun exploded. I just wanted them to hurt and for me to survive. I didn't realize I could do more, be more."

"And then you met Kanan and the others," Ahsoka continued.

"I saw what helping people worse off than me could be like," he explained. "Fighting for others, standing for something other than myself, being a force for good, I discovered what that felt like. It felt like I was alive, like I wasn't alone. I had a family again, people who cared about me. I forgot what that was like, maybe Godzilla has too. Maybe if he let down those walls, let himself trust again, he could be more than he is too. Someone just needs to show him the way, like my new family did for me. He could be a defender and not some angry monster clawing for survival. He could be more."

So long as he was alive, of course. The reason for all of this was suddenly much more clear to Ahsoka now. Ezra sighed as he finished, looking despondent as he turned his head slightly away.

"I know," he admitted. "It sounds really stupid, but that's what I sensed."

"It's not stupid," Ahsoka assured him. "Having empathy is important for a Jedi. We lost sight of that during the Clone Wars more than once. If you can understand others, learn from them, you better yourself. Never doubt yourself in this regard, Ezra. You cannot afford to forget it."

That was easier said than done, as she had learned all too well. Being a Jedi meant fighting those who wished harm on others, battling injustice and sometimes seeing the worst of the galaxy doing so. It was hard for some Jedi to remain impartial and objective in the face of that. Ahsoka recalled how true that dilemma was in regards to both her Master and his. Where Obi-Wan could remain a rock and a beacon of self-discipline, Anakin was more controlled by his emotions.

Finding a balance between the two was what she strived for. She couldn't detach herself completely from her emotions, but she saw how dangerous it was to let them take over in Anakin. More than once he had gotten close to killing in anger and it had scared her. She wondered if either he or Obi-Wan would agree with Ezra's judgment concerning Godzilla. Obi-Wan would probably sympathize, but worry about the young boy's emotions clouding him. Anakin more than likely would just dismiss them and think caring about a dumb violent lizard was pointless.

Ahsoka did not subscribe to either side of the coin. No, she understood what Ezra meant. Everyone, no matter how dark or lost, deserved a chance at redemption. After all, given the opportunity people could surprise you in more ways than one. Hondo Ohnaka, despite his greedy pirate ways, had proven he could be an ally on a number of occassions. Certainly never fully trusted, but he was more than your average thief. Asaji Ventress, a mortal enemy of hers, proved to be more than just some vicious killer that Ahsoka had once thought her as. Kanan himself had been lost once, driven to self-interest and pure survival, blocking out his inate Jedi instinct to help. He had certainly changed greatly over the past few years.

Who was to say Godzilla was any different? Who was to say Ezra was wrong this time? Ahsoka knew she couldn't, it wasn't her place to judge given all she had seen. All people had the capacity for good or evil, light or dark. She had seen it as a Jedi and as a Rebel. Ezra had learned that lesson himself, a lot faster than she had it seemed.

Returning to the search, Ahsoka felt against the exterior walls close to them. As she did, she felt something behind one bulkhead. It was faint, barely there, but she could feel it. She pulled the bulkhead away suddenly and at last found what they were looking for. An airlock, broken and busted, but it was still a way in. Ahsoka wasted no time using her dual lightsabers to cut clean through the doors. As the metal clattered to the ground she looked to see a large chasm heading straight down into the crater at an angle. It was a bit steep, but they could walk it.

"Follow me closely," she told Ezra, holding one of her sabers high.

The two Force Users moved into the newly discovered shaft. Slowly but surely they descended into the dark bowels of the wreck, with only Ahsoka's white lightsaber to guide their way. As they did, Ahsoka's sense locked onto the faint feeling she had felt before. She looked to Ezra and sensed he felt the same. They were getting closer.

Before long they were finally at the bottom of the ship. Several metric tons of steel were now above their heads. Their feet, in the meantime, touched the blackened earth of the crater the crash had made. They walked cautious through what looked to the be the remains of the Star Destroyer's hangar. All the while they honed in on the faint feeling they both had.

Then at last, they saw it. A black, dark figure covered in debris and half buried in the dirt. It lay on its side, broken and beaten. The only light was a few scant holes that let the sky shine down on the grey scales of the monster. Godzilla, the once proud reptillian titan, now lay sprawled out before them beneath the ruined remains of the instrument of his defeat.

"Is he alive?" Ezra asked Ahsoka tepidly.

She approached the downed creature, illuminating the monster's face as she drew near. It was massive next to her, his giant eye closed and unmoving. She placed a hand on the monster's face and let the Force flow through her. Her meditation against the enormous lizard soon ended and she turned to Ezra with astonishment.

"He's alive," she declared. "Just barely, but he's alive! You were right, Ezra!"

The boy didn't show any pride in being proven correct, but he did smile at knowing Godzilla's life had not been cut short. He raced up to Ahsoka and looked up at the beast, his smile evaporating into a look of contemplation.

"How are we gonna get him out of all of this?" He asked her.

She couldn't answer, she honestly had no idea. Best she could tell the poor big lizard was in some kind of coma or unconcious state. Perhaps a last ditch defense mechanism. They'd have to try and wake him up, maybe he could dig his way out of this wreck. There was only one way they could do that though.

"In his weakened state his mental defenses won't be nearly as strong as before," she slowly reasoned.

"You wanna go back in?" Ezra asked, slightly put off by the idea.

"Not really," Ahsoka admitted. "But if we want to get him back into the fight, it may be our only shot."

* * *

Moira sat in the cockpit chair and waited. Finding a big enough roof to crash onto was the easy part, as was the actual landing. She managed to set her down alright, she imagined the roof and underside of her craft were ruined. The real problem for her, as always, was the aftermath. The Imps knew her position, they saw where she went down and they were probably already on their way. Normally she'd just abandon the fighter, beat feet for the nearest hiding spot and wait for pick up from the rest of the team. Problem was this wasn't some isolated field or forest or desolate moon. There she had the advantage, the Imps didn't know the terrain or they were too busy with other things to care about searching for her.

Here though? She was inside their damn compound and it was swarming with a ton of jerks in white buckets looking for payback against any Rebel they saw. They'd surround the crash site and start closing in, cutting off all avenues of escape. Running wasn't an option here, she'd have to fight their search parties sooner or later. So she figured, "Might as well be sooner so I can thin them out a little."

As predicted, it didn't take too long for the first group of Stormtroopers to arrive and start prodding at her ship. She had activated her cockpit's windows tint function, making sure the Stormtroopers couldn't see inside. She could hear and see them though, slowly climbing onto her damaged baby. She thought she heard a few comments about how it was an old rustbucket, a relic, how the pilot was just an overly nostalgic terrorist. She took slight offence to that last part, she'd have preferred pirate, sounded cooler. Calling her fighter a rustbucket was worse though, totally uncalled for and rude. This old craft had been kicking their sorry white-clad behinds, the least they could do was acknowledge it.

When she saw the first Stormtrooper approach the cockpit, pointing his gun down at her, Moira saw her chance. She grasped at the release controls and pulled them. The cockpit suddenly exploded off the ship, its window smashing into the face of Stormtrooper and throwing him clear. Moira popped up from her seat, blaster pistol in hand and aimed it at the surprised stormtroopers.

"Rustbucket, eh?" She growled as she fired on them. "Relic, eh? Still better than your flying tin cans!"

Her first few shots took out one of the four Imps staring at her. The other Stormtroopers then scattered, running for cover behind some ventilation units close by. Using one of the ARC's wings as her own cover, Moira fired back on the Stormtroopers to little avail at first. As another burst of laserbolts from the imps hit her cover, Moira ducked her head behind it more deeply. Then she spotted one of her hardpoints on the wing still had missile attached to it. Thinking quickly, she wrenched the projectile free and placed it carefully against the ground. Peering out slightly, she spotted the position two of the Stormtroopers were hiding behind.

"Only got one shot at this," she told herself. "Better make it count."

Carefully she jury rigged the warhead on the missile, arming after a few seconds of rewiring and slicing. She then rushed into the open and chucked the missile towards the Stormtrooper position. Just as Moira ran back to hide behind her wing, the projectile hit the ventilation unit and exploded. The Stormtroopers screamed as they were flung backwards by the blast. Their comrade near the other ventilation unit was thrown backwards too, but he wasn't dead, just knocked away.

"That'll teach you a thing or two, ya lousy nerfherders!" She shouted over to the Imps.

The Stormtrooper that had been thrown to the ground was soon back on his feet. He began firing on Moira again. The Raider Leader poked her head out to get a good shot at him before he reached cover, but saw something else happen to her remaining attacker instead. Some strange creature charged up behind the Imp and grabbed him. It dragged him to the ground where it began to rip and tear at his armor while beating the soldier with a bizzarely shaped arm that looked like the animal's tail.

"What in the world?" Moira asked, looking on in complete shock.

While the creature continued to play with its victim, more of misshapen and bizarre creatures crawled up onto the roof. They soon spotted her and began clawing their way towards the crash site. Moira leapt up from her position, firing on one of the creatures as it closed on her. Her bolts just bounced off its thick armor to little effect. In a panic, Moira grabbed at the one thing that had a bit more punch than a blaster in her arsenal, her distress flare gun. As the weird mutant monster lumbered towards her, roaring a blood curdling screech, she fired the flare into its mouth. The shot travelled to the back of the mutant's throat and the creature began to choke, sputtering bits of flame from its maw.

Moira suddenly had another idea. Dashing to her cockpit, while the other freaks of nature stared in confusion at the one that was still choking to death on fire, Moira grabbed her spare flares. She tore off their tops, activating each. One of the creature's approached from behind suddenly and Moira turned to strike him with the blazing end of her makeshift torch. The mutant screeched in terror and ran away to safety. Moira retreated to the top of her fighter in the commotion and started tossing the flares all around the crash site. Before long, she was surrounded by little points of burning fires. The mutants seemed put off by the little licking flames and halted in their tracks.

But she knew they wouldn't last long, they were just there to keep them back until she had something better. She went for survival stash and extra fuel canisters. You never wanted to run out of gas while on patrol after all, that left you a sitting duck.

She raced out to the flares surrounding her craft and began pouring the spare fuel out, using the outline of the little fires to create a perimeter around her fighter. When it was done, she tossed the rest of the canister into the screeching horde of mutants and shot at it with her Blaster. The explosion set several of the beasts ablaze and scattered others. She then raced back to the top of her fighter and fired her flare gun at the line of spilled gas. In seconds, an infernal burning wall sprouted up on the roof, seperating from the ravenous throngs of killer mutants.

But even this she knew would not last forver, so she activated her commlink.

"Jetty, I'm in a bit of trouble here," she informed her droid companion. "Someone thinks I'm their dinner. A whole lot of someones, actually."

* * *

Jetty's firing became more sporadic as he tried to talk to his master and help hold off the group of Zillo-Beasts mutants that were attack. Kanan picked up the slack by using his blaster pistol in tandem with his lightsaber against the monsters. The laser bolts didn't kill the mutants, but it did give them pause long enough for Kanan to strike back. As one of the monstrosities lunged at him, Kanan ducked below a swipe from it's misshapen arms. He then raised his lightsaber and lopped the limbs clean off before stabbing the beast through the heart.

"What's going on, Jetty?" He shouted back to the droid.

"Moira's in trouble," he said, as he resumed firing on the horde of mutants. "She's stuck on a roof surrounded by these things. She needs help fast!"

Jetty then pointed to a building a few blocks away from them. It's roof was smoking, as if a fire was raging upon it. A clear distress signal if Kanan ever saw one. Thing was, while it wasn't too far away from them, it was nowhere close to their final destination. They couldn't all go to it and still reach the contact.

Kanan turned to Hera for advice, just as the twi'lek was using her blaster to take out one of the mutants. The scales were too tough to shoot through, but Hera's percision aiming was sufficient enough to score a hit on one of the creature's eyes and blow out its brains. A difficult shot for some, but not her.

"We can send Chopper with Jetty and link up with them later," she suggested. "Probably our best bet to save Moira."

Kanan then threw his lightsaber at the mob of monsters before them. It spun through the air sideways and cut two of the abominations down, slicing clear through their torsos, cleaving them in two. When the blade returned to Kanan's hand, Chopper fired on the horde himself. Using his stun gun, the little droid fired three shots into a roaring mutant's mouth. In shrieking pain, it retreated and the other mutants followed.

"They probably used shock sticks or something to keep them in line," Kanan reasoned as he watched them retreat. "They'll be back though, so we better get moving. Jetty, you and Chopper find Moira and get to the main servers to erase that data."

"If we can't meet you there head back to the _Ghost_," Hera added. "Wait there as long as you can. We'll try to stay in contact."

With that, the group split apart, the droids going one way, Hera and Kanan the other. The roars of the mutants and screams of beseiged soldiers from both sides of the conflict raged around them. As the chaos raged it became harder and harder to discern which way the battle was going. All that mattered to Kanan though was finding this contact. These mutants were just a distraction from the real Zillo-Beast clone of concern, the one that was going to make life hell for the Rebellion if it got off world. The one they were actually sent here to kill. He hoped this contact would be able to show them how.

* * *

Sionver Boll was going over her computer files, doing her best to ignore the madness outside her lab. That was when the door suddenly opened wide. She reached for the small stun gun she kept at her side and raised it towards the entrance, only to see it was just Klusto. She lowered the weapon in relief.

"Oh thank goodness," she said relieved. "For a moment I thought you were one of the Rejects. Using those things as reinforcements is insane. I can't believe Vader ordered them loose!"

"I can," Klusto grumbled as he looked about the room, his blaster held high. "Nothing that man does surprises me anymore. He's capable of many things, terrible things."

Boll looked at Klusto in confusion. His demeanor was a lot more agitated and panicked than she had suspected when he arrived. He suddenly rushed over to her anxiously.

"What's going on, Klusto?" She asked curiously.

"We don't have much time, Sionver," he told her. "I need to get you somewhere safe before the Rebels arrive."

He grabbed for her hand and tried to lead her away from her desk.

"Klusto, don't be absurd," she said resisting. "I'm perfectly secure here. I just forgot to lock the door is all."

"Those things don't care about doors, nor do the Rebels," Klusto argued back. "The Command Center is the only place I can protect you. It's already on lockdown, if we hurry now we might be able to get there before the Rebels do."

He finally forced her away from the desk, but Sionver managed to get herself free before they reached the door.

"I don't need protection, Klusto," she assured him. "The Rebels aren't going to find me, I doubt they even know I'm here. Besides, I still have work to do before-"

"The Rebels are here for the prototype, Sionver!" He shouted at her. "That's the only reason they could be here! Maybe Vader was right, maybe Nulon was a spy! Either way, someone leaked information to the Rebels about the project! They'll be after everything and anyone that could reveal its secrets, that means you!"

"You're overreacting, Klusto," Boll said, trying to calm his nerves. "This whole thing has gotten you worked up. I heard about Sakal's death, I'm sorry. But that's no reason to get-"

"Vader killed him, Sionver!" Klusto screamed at her. "He killed him because he wasn't satisfied! He killed him because he could! Because we're expendable to him! Don't you get it? If I leave you here and somethings goes wrong, he won't save you! He'll leave you to the wolves or probably just blow up whatever ship the Rebels try to cart you away on!"

He grabbed the Bivall's hand affectionately, his tone turning to pleading.

"Please, Sionver," he asked again. "You have to come with me. You're... you're the only one left I care about here. The only one I know I can trust. I can't lose you."

Boll looked at the Imperial Officer's hand and then at him and she saw how truly sincere he was. He was here for one reason only, for her. It was touching and somewhat sad, to know that she was all he had left now.

"Klusto, I-"

The door suddenly opened again, two people who were certainly not Imperials stood in the doorway. One was a beared man in ragged clothes and armor. The other, a Twi'lek women with brillant green skin wearing a flight suit. They were both armed with blasters and their gaze was on the pair of them. Klusto quickly jumped between them and Sionver, shielding her from the two Rebels as he aimed his blaster at them.

"Get back, Rebel Scum," he ordered. "I won't let you touch her, you hear me. Not a finger."

"Put the gun down," the man ordered. "Now."

Klusto didn't break his gaze as he spoke to Sionver once more.

"Quick, run, take the emergency exit," he frantically pleaded. "I'll hold them off as long as-"

A painful shock struck Klusto in the back and he suddenly went limp from the burst of electricity. He fell to the floor unconcious, Sionver now standing over him with the sparking stun gun in her hands. She looked remorsefully down at the General.

"I'm sorry, Klusto," she said sadly. "It wasn't supposed to end like this. You were supposed to think I died. Everyone was."

She stepped over the unconcious Imperial and over to the confused pair of Rebels.

"You're Fulcrum's people, I presume?" She asked.

"Yes," the Twi'lek replied, lowering her blaster along with her companion. "I'm Hera, this is Kanan."

"Doctor Sionver Boll, project lead," she said gratefully. "I was wondering when you'd show up. I was concerned the Rejects would give you trouble when they got released. Glad to see I was proven wrong."

Heading back to her desk, Sionver continued with her previous work after being interupted. Deleting the last of her personal files concerning the Zillo-Beast project and transfering relevant copies of other material to her personal drive. She pulled the disk out once everything was finished and stowed it away in her belt. She then aimed the stun gun at the terminal and fired, frying it completely.

"Alright, that's everything on my end," she said confidently. "Have you taken care of the main servers?"

"Working on it," Kanan assured her. "Better question, why are you, of all people, helping us? This is your project."

"No, it's the Emperor's project," Boll sternly answered back. "One he forced on me and has been pushing me to complete for years since. He got his damn armor after killing the original creature, but that wasn't enough for him. He wanted more slaves to do his bidding and to kill his enemies. He was impressed by the Zillo-Beast's power and he wanted it for himself, no matter the cost."

"Why'd you help him for so long if you were opposed to it?" Hera asked, trying her best to be understanding.

Boll could only sigh in despair.

"I felt guilty over my role in the original Zillo-Beast's death," she explained, sadly at first but her anger slowly rising within her. "It was my bomb that awakened it, my gas that killed it. I wanted to at least bring it back, undo the damage. I didn't realize until it was too late that I was fooling myself. I was just making another damn weapon of war. That's all my career as scientist has been, helping the powers that be make new ways to kill people. I'm sick of it. When I heard of Fulcrum through the underground network, I made contact. I fed all relevant data on Tsuburonda and its defenses to the Rebels, hoping it would be enough to help them end all of this."

"Well mission accomplished, almost anyway," Kanan informed her. "We still need to destroy that prototype you made and get you out of here."

"Yes, but there's one last thing we need to do before I can leave," Sionver explained.

She walked over to a panel on the wall as Kanan and Hera looked at each other somewhat perturbed. This was obviously not what they were expecting to hear. They were after a quick extraction, sadly, Sionver would have to disappoint them.

"What exactly do we need to do?" Hera asked curiously.

"We have some cargo to pick up," Sionver replied plainly. "Fulcrum informed me she'd send someone with a sufficiently sized ship so I'm assuming you can carry it."

"Wait a second," Kanan said approaching her. "Fulcrum didn't say anything about cargo. She just said we were picking up you and anything relevant you might need when you go into hiding."

"Well this cargo is relevant," Boll angrily shot back. "It goes with me or I stay here, it's non-negotiable."

After pressing a few buttons on a keypad next to the panel, a secret entrance in the wall opened up. Boll stepped in and ushered Hera and Kanan to follow.

"This will take us to the primary lab," she stated. "It's where the prototype is. My cargo is in my personal storage area close by, next to the assembly area. We get there, we grab it, we leave, easy."

"What is this stuff anyway?" Kanan prodded.

"I'll explain when we get there," Boll promised.

"And what about him?" Hera asked, pointing towards the still unconcious Klusto.

Sionver lowered her head and exhaled slightly.

"He's... he's not a problem," she said, forlorn and distant. "Don't worry about him. He'll wake up, he'll be hurt, he'll move on. Now come on, we've wasted enough time as it is."

Hera moved in after Boll and started walking down the darkened shaft. She looked back and waved Kanan forward aggressively, as the man was just standing there with his arms crossed and doubting look on his face. He finally growled a long annoyed sigh and walked into the shaft.

"Fine," Kanan said with a grumble. "But for the record, Hera, I got real bad feeling about all this. So don't say I didn't tell you so when it blows up in our faces."

"Wouldn't dream of it, love," Hera assured him jokingly. "Now come on, before the poor Imperial wakes up and realizes he's been had."

The tunnel closed back up as the trio left, leaving an unconcious General Klusto alone and abandoned on the cold hard floor.

* * *

Darkness was all he felt. A pitch deathly silence that purveyed every thought. Failure. Defeat. Weakness. Things he had never experienced before. No, he had experienced them, he just refused to admit he had. He used too much of himself, wasted too much power and energy. None of it had been enough. Behind the darkness he could feel the sensation of pain lurking. All he could do shelter himself off from it now and hope eventually it would subside.

He had been so close, one final effort and he would know peace in this world. Now there was only the dark, the lonely unforgiving totality of eternity. His tomb, far from home, buried beneath the very technology of war he had railed against for so many years. In a way this should've been peaceful, but it wasn't. The sense of failure ws fresh in the mind, burrowing into him, never letting go. An open wound that would not heal. Defeat offered no release. Surrender did not bring an end. It simply weighed upon him, shackled him, embedded itself deep inside and he had not the strength or will to fight it anymore.

This was it, the end.

"Can you hear me?"

A voice, some strange voice echoed in his mind suddenly. It felt familiar somehow.

"Can you hear me?"

Yes, he could hear this voice. What was it? Who was it? Why was it here?

"It's us, we spoke before, remember?"

Now he did, the ones who had asked of his help. The Rebels, those who stood against the Empire. Who revealed the true threat to his new Dominion and set him against it. Anger rose, subsided, there was no point. Why were they here? Why were they speaking to him?

"We came to help, we led you here. It's the least we could do."

Blaming themselves? As if they could place this burden on their backs. No, that was not their place to do. This failure was not theirs, this fight was not theirs. They had merely shared it with him. To suggest his defeat was on their shoulders was insulting. He knew why he lost and it wasn't because of them.

"It doesn't matter who's fault it was, we're here to help. Isn't that enough?"

Why would they help him? They were small and frail, selfish and arrogant, destructive and ignorant. They were not friends, they were not companions. This whole thing was about each side getting something they did not have. It was a alliance born of self interest, he admitted yet they didn't. That's what separated them, he was honest about what he was. Well, what he once was anyway.

"We help because that's what we're supposed to do. It was what we once were before the Empire destroyed us. We want to be that again, for the Galaxy to be like that again."

Noble intentions, always the stated reason behind any actions their kind gave. He still did not believe in them. Everything returned inward and selfish eventually.

"You can think that, but it's not true. We're here to help you because we're Jedi. We're born to understand nature, to be part of it because it is a part of everything. It's something that binds us together, we call it the Force. It's why we can speak to you, before and now."

The Force? An interesting name, very simple, direct. Acceptable. What did that have to do with him?

"We can't deny our place in the Force, for we deny ourselves if we do. Even for those who are not Jedi are still a part of it. You are a creature of nature, a primal part of it and thus part of the Force. To turn away from something in need, in pain, is not our way. We exist to bring balance within ourselves and others. Whatever external motivations you think we have, we're here because a sentient creature is in trouble and needs us. What you do after that is up to you."

As if it mattered even if he believed them. He has no power left, nothing to sustain him or heal him. The power was gone. In the moment he needed it most, his strength had failed. Now there was nothing left to draw on. He was drained, what little power he had left was keeping him alive now and only just.

"What kind of power do you need?"

The same that awakened him of course, the same that sustained him against every foe. What he had drawn on all his life. The energy of the invisble, the power of the atom, the very resonance of power's aftershock.

"Radiation, of course, that explains it. This planet is basically bathed in it everyday. You can sense it. Did you feel it in the air?"

Well of course, but it was too spread out and dispersed to be of any significanct source of power. He could not draw from it large berths and beneath this tomb it was now impossible. Too much was in the way. Besides, he did not have strength to push on, it no longer resided in him. It was gone. He was beaten.

"You can't honestly believe that. After everything you've been through, you're just giving up?"

Accepting an end, that was what this was. That he was not strong or powerful enough to withstand his enemies. That was how it was. His anger and rage had served him well and in the end it was not enough against these new foes. What else did he have? What else was there? That strength was buried too deep and it was not enough to overcome this dark fog.

"But that's not the only strength you have. It never was. You have more. You can be more. Your anger, it's not going to go away. It's always going to be there. But if you rely on it too much, you'll never be more than what you think you are and never what can be. I learned that myself not too long ago."

And what could you be, little organism? What could you be more than them selfish little flesh thing wandering through life only caring about his own precious needs? What made him think he understood pain or anger or anything? What made anyone think they understood anything beyond feeble perceptions?

"I won't pretend I can know everything about you, but I do understand. I was lost, a lot of my friends were. But we found something else to draw on. Something else to drive us beyond our anger. To be something greater. My parents found that. My Master found it. I found it. You have that chance too, you can be so much more!"

What more was there? What other power could there be? What fool notion was this?

"If you want to know, you'll let us help. I can get you the power you need, but I think it's going to work unless you do what Ezra says. You need to draw from something else, something stronger than your rage. True power does not come from it, it come from something else, something you've forgotten through all the pain you've suffer and returned in kind."

Do what you will, he thought, burying deeper into the black. Get the power and perhaps he'd listen. Perhaps he'd even care. He could tell they were different, that were honest at least as far as their desire to help. But that didn't mean they had anything of value to teach.

"We'll see, we'll be back as soon we break through the ceiling."

And with that the voices were gone and the darkness returned. He wondered if they'd succeed. He wondered if they could surprise yet again. And he wondered if the Ezra creature was right. If there was something he had forgotten deep inside. What could it be?

* * *

Sabine fell back firing shots as she went. The Mutants were a lot tougher than she thought they'd be. Despite missing limbs or having extra parts, they were just mobile and fast as anything. Rebels who didn't get to cover fast enough found themselves getting thrown or tackled and torn to bits. The relentless assault never seemed to let up. Even the AT-TE faced problems as the mutants continued to pound on the machine incessantly, trying to get inside. Other Rebels tried to shoot them off and only succeeded in becoming the new targets.

As Sabine fell back, she saw Zeb doing his best to hold off the rampaging creatures. The Lasat was strong, but he was facing overwhelming numbers. As he punched or swatted the creatures away with his Bo-Rifle in staff mode, one managed to get by his swings and land punch using its third arm. Zeb was tossed to the ground, but he managed to get retract his Bo-Rifle to gun mode just as the creature attacked him directly. Zeb fired several shots at point blank range into the beast's maw, killing it with relative ease.

That was when a second creature with a snake-like body and two arms wrapped itself around Zeb's leg as he tried to run. Zeb tried to pull away, but the creature pulled back and snarled viciously at the Lasat. In respone, Zeb used his Bo-Rifle's staff function to repeatedly smack the creature in the face. Each blow made the mutant loosen his grip until one final blow struck him in the eye and the monster slinked away in pain.

Sabine's momentary concern for her friend made her forget about her own problems and that gave one creature the chance to tackle her. She found herself headbutted into a wall by a monstrosity with a single arm and two legs, said arm portruding out of its back. The monster now grasped for her throat and forced her up along the wall, roaring at her in a mindless rage with a screech that pierced ear drums.

"I've heard scarier," she managed to choke out, before grabbing at one of her grenades.

She stuffed the explosive into the abomination's mouth and punched the back of its throat for good measure. The mutant released her and Sabine ducked away just before the explosion blew the creature's head into bits. Slightly covered in the reject clone's gore, Sabine ran to better ground among her fellow Rebels. She was really starting to wish Ezra was here right now, they could use a few extra lightsabers. It was about the only weapon at this she believed could effectively kill all these things before they were completely overrun.

* * *

Jetty was just not up for fighting as much as he used to be. Moira's reprograming had really done a number on that subroutine. He could still shoot, but in the face of a bunch of ravenous mutant alien monsters, he preferred to leave that task up to the smaller Astromech currently accompanying him. Jetty, for now, just ran. From what little he could remember from being a Separatist Battledroid, he had done a lot of this so nothing had really changed.

Chopper's stun gun blasts were more effective against the Zillo-Beast mutants anyway, as their shocks forced the ugly beasts to fall back every time they got close. It helped they were in such a small space at the moment, a very tight maintenance corridor that didn't give the ugly deformed critters much room to move. Jetty still wished he picked up a better gun before he left the _Ghost_, then he would at least have a fighting chance when they ran out of places to run. Knowing their luck, that would probably happen eventually.

Suddenly, one of the Mutants burst from out of a vent. It was too big to get itself through, but its arm continued to swipe and slash in a desperate attempt to get at the Battledroid. Jetty fired repeatedly into the open vent until the creature finally backed off. This was getting ridiculous, they needed to get to the roof already and they couldn't do that with all this things chasing them.

Rounding a corner, the two droids found a way out. At the end of the tunnel they found a ladder that seemed to lead up to the roof. Problem was, they still had a ton of mutants following them.

"We can't climb up in time!" Jetty panicked. "We're as good as scrap now!"

Chopper grumbled something out of sheer annoyance, bumping into his leg. It then made a grab for Jetty's rifle with his little metal clamps, forcing it from the battledroid's hands. The astromech then aimed the weapon and fired on one of the pipes in the wall near the corner they had just come from, releasing a blast of gas from within. He shoved the gun back into Jetty's arms and fired his stun gun again. As the mutants rounded the corner, the blast from Chopper ignited the gas. The small explosion forced the mutants back, as fire spurted forth from the pipe.

"Whoa, nice tri-"

Chopper bulldozed Jetty's feet from under him, forcing the battledroid to grab onto his head. The astromech then ignited his jetpack and blasted up towards the hatch the ladder led to. Jetty braced for impact, thinking they were about to hit it, but Chopper stopped just short and grasped for the ladder with one of his metal clamp arms. It held them in place while Jetty moved to open the hatch. He pressed the emergency release button and the door opened above them. The battledroid scrambled out while Chopper boosted himself up and through. The astromech landed on the floor next to Jetty, who looked at him as incredulous as a droid with unable to make facial expressions could.

"You could've warned me before you did that," he told Chopper.

The astromech ignored him and closed the hatch behind them. He then worped and whirped at the battledroid to follow him. They moved down the hallway until they reached a sealed door. Chopper started cutting through the lock while Jetty maintained overwatch.

"How bad do you think the roof is now?" He asked the astromech.

Chopper just let off a series of annoyed grumbles in response.

"Well do you have a plan at least?"

Another series of whoops and beeps replied back.

"Make it up as you go?" Jetty said in disbelief. "How is that a plan?"

The door opened with a sudden hiss as the lock gave way. Chopper rolled on through with Jetty following behind. They soon neared another door with the words "Roof Access" displayed atop its frame.

"Well, maybe Moira at least has a plan," Jetty optimistically suggested. "Who knows? Maybe she drove them all off."

Chopper pressed the switch and the door opened wide revealinf the roof of the building. They could see the crash site not too far away, the fire wall surrounding it was getting shorter and all around the downed fighter was a horde of very hungry looking mutants.

"Ah nuts," Jetty groaned.

Chopper moved up suddenly, Jetty raced after him. They could see Moira more clearly now, firing off her flare gun every couple of seconds to scare the freakish beasts away. She spotted the two droids but said nothing, not wanting to tip the mutants off. Chopper looked around for a few moments, assessing the situation. It then quietly chirped at Jetty, laying out a plan of sorts. The battledroid did not like how it sounded.

"Charge in there?" Jetty asked confused. "How is that a plan?"

Chopper suddenly activated his jet thruster again, lifting off from the ground without warning. Jetty ducked away as the little droid rocketed away. The astromech skimmed the top of one of the creatures, scorching his head. The other mutants suddenly backed away, afraid of the fire spewing backside of the little droid. Chopper landed ontop of the fighter next to Moira and ushered her towards him with his clamp arm.

"Alright, here's hoping I ain't too heavy," she said, heeding his command.

She wrapped her legs around the machine's body and grasped onto the droid's head. Although it was a bit harder to take off this time with the added weight, the Droid managed to get off the ground. Once again the mutants backed away from the droid's flaming jet stream. Moira, however, realized that wouldn't last once they landed. They'd be outside the ring of fire and the freaks of nature would be there to greet them. She had an idea though, as much as she hated to resort to it. She looked to Jetty and called out to him.

"Hit the fuel line!" She ordered, pointing to her fighter. "Shoot it!"

Jetty took up his rifle again, struggling to properly aim with it. He looked at the spot Moira was pointing and just began shooting like mad. Eventually one of his bolts hit the target and the fuel line for the fighter went up in a fireball. Moira and Chopper had managed to slink away just in time, but the mutants around it were lit up almost instantly. Those who survived ran like hell away from the raging inferno, while Chopper landed in relative safety beside Jetty with Moira.

"Thanks for getting me off the menu, boys," she thanked them as she got off Chopper and dusted herself off. "Another minute and that firewall would've been down."

"Sorry about your fighter, ma'am," Jetty apologized.

"Eh, I'll put it on Fulcrum's bill," she said shrugging it off. "Call it hazard pay considering I'm now part of the ground assault."

Chopper suddenly cut in with a series of blurps and beeps, outling their next objective.

"The main servers, huh?" She said nodding, before taking out her blaster. "Well assuming it isn't overrun with these freaky science experiments we should be good. Let's move out Jetty.

"Roger, roger," Jetty replied, giving a thumbs up as he did before following dutifully behind his master and Chopper.

* * *

It felt like forever before they finally got out of Boll's secret tunnel. She explained to them on the way that she had convinced her overseer to build it as a potential escape route in case something went wrong. He hadn't bothered to look into where it ultimately led after that. When they got out of the dark dank corridor they found themselves in a large open hangar bay of sorts.

"Stay quiet," Boll warned. "There could still be Stormtroopers about."

Kanan didn't see any, but he suspected she was right. He kept low as they walked out of the tunnel and moved slowly with Boll. At least until he bothered to look to the left and he spotted their target. A massive creature, asleep but no less threatening. It looked just as it did on the old footage, but far bigger and with a few added bits. Metal comprised many of its joints, chrome and steel covered parts of its body. The tail's tip looked more like metal club, the creature's face appeared half cast in iron and it sported large weapons pods on its shoulders. All three arms looked weaponized as well, replaced largely with cybernetic prosthetics. This was the Cyber Zillo-Beast clone, what they had been sent to kill.

"You really went all out on that thing didn't you?" Kanan asked, trying to hide his astonishment. "Why'd you make it so big?"

"The Emperor thought it would be more intimidating that way," Boll answered as they kept walking. "I didn't really have much choice but to go along with it. If I tried to leave they pretty much suggested I'd be blacklisted for the rest of my life. If I lost this job I wouldn't get another one and no one would pay attention to any research I tried to publish. They would've just gotten someone else to finish the work and I couldn't allow that."

"Why not? They probably would've failed without you," Hera suggested.

"You'll see why soon enough," Boll promised. "Keep following."

Kanan looked back at the slumbering mechanical monstrosity behind them as they passed.

"What about taking that thing out?" He asked. "It's the whole reason we're here."

"We can't do it from here anyway," Boll explained. "We don't have access to the main control terminal. The only way we can destroy it is by giving it a specific set of commands that can't be overridden. I'm going to have it head up to the volcano behind the facility and throw itself in. Otherwise it will take forever to kill."

"No self-destruct switch?" Hera asked curiously. "Would've made this easier."

Boll just looked back at her incredulously.

"Please, do you really think the Empire would've let me add that kind of function?" She asked sardonically. "This isn't a holo-vid, that's not a feature people care to add to their super secret war machines. The Empire overlooks weaknesses, it doesn't add them. Like the fact a tow cable could trip up those giant AT-ATs of theirs. You think the designers did that to be fair? No, they did it because, like my Prototype, the Emperor likes things big."

Kanan supposed it was too much to ask for the Empire to be that dumb. Oh well, at least there was a plan to destroy this thing. They just had to reach this control terminal in time. After they secured Boll's cargo they could just head right there. Not too difficult to pull off, so long as they finished this fast.

They left the hangar and entered a large laboratory next door. From the looks of the assembly lines and large metal appendages on the walls, this appeared to be a cybernetics lab. The assembly line wasn't their destination though. Boll led them down to a small area off to the side, pulling out a keycard as they approached a nearby door.

"This is my private room," Boll explained as she swiped the card. "I convinced Nulon I needed it for some personal items required for my work. I turned it into something of a second lab. Only I have access."

The door opened and revealed a small lab with several large incubation tubes, terminals and other assorted science-type stuff that Kanan didn't understand. Slowly his eyes were drawn to a large object in the middle of the room covered by a tarp. Boll pull it off suddenly, revealing a hover cart with a large tightly secured box atop it. She deactivated the lock, opened the lid and pulled something out of the container, cradling it in her arms.

"This is why I couldn't leave," she stated. "My replacement wouldn't have cared about attempting this."

Kanan looked at the cargo and was stunned. An egg, Boll was holding some kind of brownish-green egg. He imagined there were more inside the box. He didn't have to think about what kind of egg it was, he guessed from the get go.

"You made more of them," he said, trying his best to keep his voice down. "Why would you make more of them? One is enough trouble!"

"They're not for the Empire," Boll insisted. "I found a secluded world, outside Imperial notice or expansion plans. It's the perfect enviroment for the Zillo-Beasts to thrive again. Plenty of food, water, underground shelters to hide and no sentient lifeforms like the Duggs that it can harm or vice versa. I have one hundred eggs already seeded. When they lay eggs I can select some to fetilize with clone embryos I've already created"

Boll placed the egg back in the container, closed the lid shut and walked over to a small case situated on her desk nearby. She picked it up and held it out to the two Rebels graciously.

"No one knows about them but me," she continued jubilantly. "We get them off world and the Empire will never know they exist. That's why I asked Fulcrum for a sufficiently sized ship to extract me."

"And you didn't bother to tell her why? We're here to kill the one Zillo-Beast you made," Kanan reminded her with a scowl. "Not to help you play mama to more of them."

"Kanan, that's not fair," Hera countered with a furious glare. "These eggs aren't going to grow up to be weapons."

"That doesn't change the fact this was not in the plan at all," Kanan answered back, his scowl growing greater. He turned back to Boll. "We came here to save the lives of people that prototype could end killing if more are made. You are putting that objective at risk so we can help you save these damn things? If the Empire realizes they're out there, they'll start this whole mess all over again!"

"That's a risk we should be willing to take!" Boll insisted. "They deserve at least a chance to be something other than weapons!"

But Kanan did not waver, in his mind this was a waste of time. They were not going to drag this big crate of eggs all the way back ot the ship. They'd be risking their lives and the entire mission for a bunch of stupid unborn monsters. As far as he was concerned, this was incredibly stupid.

"Look, if you wanna take your... embryos fine, they're your baggage," he attempted to compromise angrily. "But these eggs stay here."

"No, I need them," she insisted. "I need as much biodiversity as I can in order to create a sustainable population. Each one of these eggs is an unique genetic organism, without them the species with not be able to survive."

Kanan just groaned, he didn't really care about any of that. He had a mission to do and this was getting in the way.

"I risked my cover doing all of this," Boll steadfastly declared. "Do you know hard it was concealing a egg breeding program? I had to convince these people that the rejects needed to stay alive to test for genetic weaknesses in the prototype. Because we needed to substitute those failings with cybernetics for the final product and correct mistakes in genome. In reality, I was gathering samples from the rejects to better understand the Zillo-Beast's genetic makeup so I could create eggs and embryos to house inside those eggs! It took years of careful planning and research! I am not leaving without my work!"

Kanan was just about to punch the doctor out and carry her out of here. Hell, he'd probably leave the embryos behind too just to teach her a lesson. Hera, however, stopped those thoughts cold.

"Think for a second, Kanan" Hera pleaded. "We're looking at the fate of an entire species here. We can't just let them all die."

"We did not risk our lives getting here to bring an extinct species back to life," Kanan insisted. "They had their shot and things didn't work out. I'm sorry for that, but it's not our responsibility to fix that. They're extinct, it's over for them."

Hera crossed her arms and looked at him with a snarl.

"Like the Jedi are over?" She asked coyly.

"That is different," Kanan insisted. "The Jedi were-"

"Wiped out by the Emperor in order to achieve his own personal ends," Hera finished for him. "Slaughtered like dumb animals because they threatened his power. That sounds suspiciously similar to what happened to the Zillo-Beast."

Kanan tried to think of a counter, but he just fumed. He then looked to Boll.

"Give me one good reason I should go along with this," he demanded.

"Because we killed it," she replied sadly, her voice practically choking on her own words. "I killed it. I destroyed an entire species because I was too scared and too stupid to try and stop it. Because I let Palpatine get away with it. Because I cared more about my career and the respect I had garnered. The Zillo-Beast was the most unique lifeform I ever encountered and I used it as a stepping stone. This is my chance to fix that, my chance to right that wrong. Don't you see, if I don't do this, if I don't give these creatures a chance, than it's just like letting Palpatine kill them all over again."

Kanan still gramced, this was all so stupid. Hera was on board with it, but he didn't know. In a way, yes, the Zillo-Beast was the victim of one man's lust for power. Just as the Jedi were. And just like Boll, the Jedi had been unable to stop it and actually let Palpatine kill the creature. Now, given the option to save the species, to right the wrongs of the Jedi and the injustice the Emperor had visited upon the poor monster, could he really say no? Could he accept doing something like that?

No, he couldn't turn a blind eye again.

"Alright," he relented. "We'll take them, but we better be fast because those mutant things are still out there."

Boll released a huge sigh of relief and Hera beamed proudly at Kanan. He supposed the smile from her was worth a little extra danger in the end. This was still stupid though, noble but stupid.

"Thank you," Boll graciously replied. "Thank you ever so much. Take the cart, we can get to an adjoining landing pad on one of the other buildings. Then we'll just have to call in your ship."

"That might get complicated," Hera warned. "Our crew is a bit stretched thin. I'll have to check in with them and see who can make it."

"First things first, lets get the eggs out of here," Kanan ordered.

The group got the hover cart out of the secret lab and out into the open. Everything seemed to be going smoothly as they hurried the cart along. Kanan remained on watch as they did so. Then, suddenly, he felt something through the Force. Familiar, angry, and close by. He wasn't sure what it was, but it seemed targetted on him. Within an instant he went for his lightsaber, activated it and moved the blade in front of his face.

A laserbolt bounced off the blade and slammed into a nearby wall.

"Sniper! Boll, Hera, go!" He ordered. "I'll distract him!"

Kanan pulled out his blaster pistol and fired it up into the rafters where he had thought the shot had come from. Hera hesistated for a moment, but Kanan glared at her.

"Go! Now!" He ordered once more.

Hera reluctantly returned to the cart and forced it forward with Boll. They ran towards a large door, which opened and led them out of the assembly area. All the while, Kanan kept blocking shots from the mystery sniper. He thought he spotted him ducking through the shadows up top. With careful aim, he threw his saber and sliced through the catwalk above. The platform broke free and the shadowly form tumbled down to a lower level of the assembly line.

Kanan quickly jumped up to the level the sniper had fell, a secondary catwalk and approached the downed form. He was a Stormtrooper, but his armor was covered in blue markings. Very odd for the an Imperial. The sniper soon got up, aiming his weapon at Kanan. The Jedi simply pushed out with the Force and sent the Trooper tumbling backwards into a railing. The force of the hit made him drop the rifle, but the Imperial caught himself before he went over.

Standing tall, the Stormtrooper brought out a missile launcher from his back and pointed it at Kanan.

"Move that hand again and I'll blow you away," he warned.

His voiced sounded strange, familiar, but older somehow. Kanan got a better look at him, seeing that was packing a lot of serious hardware, more than any Stormtrooper regular he had seen.

"It doesn't matter how many guns you have, this will not end well for you," he warned the Trooper. "Put it down and walk away."

"You'd like that wouldn't you?" The Trooper asked frantically. "So you can slink back into the shadows. Kill me later when I don't suspect it. You're underhanded like that. You have to be. Only way you could've survived."

"Buddy I don't even know you," Kanan countered.

"No, you don't," the man answered back, as one of his hands went for his helmet. "I don't even know who you are. Not personally anyway, not as a person. But I know what you are and I know why you're here. And if we're getting technical, you at least remember what I look like."

The Stormtrooper pulled off his helmet, revealing a face Kanan had not seen in a long time. It was a face that was older and more worn, but familiar all the same. That was because it was the face of the soldier he once fought beside. It was the face of every soldier of the Repulic Army. This was a Clone, a damn Clone. Older, crazier obviously, but a clone nonetheless.

Kanan said nothing in response, but tightened his stance. The Trooper put his helmet back on and aimed down the sight of the missile launcher.

"You thought you were going to get revenge, but that's not what's happening, Jedi," he declared. "I'm finishing what I started at the Temple."

"The Temple?" Kanan blurted out in anger without thinking. "You were at the Temple!"

"Good soldiers follow orders," the Stormtrooper declared, not even hearing Kanan's outburst. "And those orders are clear. Execute the Jedi!"

The missile launcher fired and Kanan leapt away from the catwalk. The blast annihilated the area he had been standing in just moments before. He landed on crane for the assembly line and swung himself over to an adjacent upper platform. Laserbolts struck the platform as he landed and he made a mad dash for cover.

"You can't run anymore, Jedi!" The Clonetrooper shouted aloud. "And I'm not running from you! Not anymore! One of us is dying today, you hear me! One of us dies and it won't be me!"

* * *

Ahsoka stood precariously on the ledge overlooking the unconcious Godzilla. Ezra stood besides her, staring up at the bottom of the Star Destroyer wreck through some macrobinoculars. The hull was the only thing keeping Godzilla blocked off from the radiation he needed. Tsuburonda was constantly bathed in the stuff, it was what kept the skies dancing with colors every second of every hour. If they could break open the wreck's hull, let the sun in so to speak, maybe Godzilla could recharge.

"See any structural faults?" Ahsoka asked Ezra.

"A few of them directly over his back," he informed her. "I think a Force Push could make them collapse. I don't know for sure though. Sabine's the demolitions expert, not me."

"It's really our only option at this point," she reminded him. "What's the biggest thing you've lifted or moved with Kanan?"

"Uh, big steel doors mostly," Ezra shrugged.

"Well, pulling something down is easier than pulling up," Ahsoka assured him. "Just concentrate like always, I'll help you best I can."

The two of them now begun to focus themselves through the Force, reaching out towards the Star Destroyer's hull. The steel began to bend and shift as they pulled upon it from afar. Little by little, the already warped and bent hull began to break apart. Creaking sounds exchoed throughout the chamber as little by little, the metal began to fall away. Ezra and Ahsoka continued to force the crumbling wreck to give way, straining to pull it all down every second.

Suddenly, the hull cracked hard and large portion of it tumbled free from the rest of the wreck. Ezra and Ahsoka broke contact and allowed the avalanche of steel to cascade down from above. Several floors, corridors and rooms tumbled free from their precarious position and smashed against the ground. Some of the debris fell on Godzilla's back but bounced or slid off his side. When dust finally settled, the brilliant light of the outdoor sun shone through, illuminating the injured reptilian titan.

"He has his opening," said Ahsoka with a slight smile. "Now he just needs to take it."

* * *

Godzilla could feel the energy more clearly now, the blockage was gone. It did not change anything though. Despite the efforts of Jedi sentients, it was not enough. As predicted, they soon returned, connecting to his unconcious mind to "speak" with him. His thoughts answered them before their words spoke to his subconcious.

Valiant but futile.

"It's not futile," one of them, the female, declared adamantly. "The energy is right there! Shining in from the skies above!"

Indeed, but he was not strong enough to reach it and it was too spread out and dispersed to be of use in his condition. There was nothing that could be done now. It was over. This was done.

"So after everything you've survived, everything you fought, you're quitting now? All because your anger wasn't enough to face down an exploding starship hitting you in the face. I don't believe that."

The young male's disbelief was readily apparent in his voice. It was interesting to see this creature thought so highly of his abilities, but it didn't matter. His strength had failed, the rage could no longer stake his desire for combat. In the critical hour it had left him and when it had it left him open and vulnerable. There was not enough power now to actively return that lost strength.

"Because you use the rage to power you, your anger to keep you going, but it's not enough. It never was. I told you before, you need to draw it from something else. Think back, where did the anger come from? Why did you feel hurt? Why did want others to suffer for that?"

What kind of questions were these? Why did this little human child ask this of him? What was the point and why did he even care? He couldn't even find the strength to eject the boy from his mind for such petty quandries. So he was stuck listening to him and his inevitable response to the feelings Godzilla had just expressed.

"Because I asked those questions to myself. I had to look inside and realize what that anger was doing to me, what that pain had made me become. And I realized there was a better way. To take that pain and anger, use it for something more than my own survival. You can do it too. I know you can."

This human, it honestly believed that. It earnestly laid its emotions out in front of him and tried to compare the pain they had both suffered. Godzilla could sense the anger from him now, the rage that resided inside. But it was tempered, the pain was serving another outlet.

So Godzilla did think back, to at least humor the human for a moment if nothing else. To see if any of this was true. And he remembered, his long sleep, the peace, the tranqulity. Before that, his existence on the surface, in a time before all had changed, when many of his kind roamed the earth. He was different then, not what he was now, before the weapon of man had augmented him. It was a savage world, but pure, innocent, without the strife of decay and rot. Then nature changed and he was forced to go along with it, forced to find another way to survive.

When he emerged, forced from sleep, he discovered a planet vastly different from his own. Continents had shifted, moutains had been mowed down, forests torn up. Concrete replaced much of the landscape. Unliving things had been erected over old stomping grounds. The air was sicker, the planet was sicker. It angered him, that in his abseance, not only had his kind been forgotten, but his world was forever gone. He wanted to fix that, to remove what he saw as a parasite, to make the world better. For sometimes, you needed to tear down something for a better world rise from its ashes. That was the essence of nature, the struggle for survival, the cycle of life. Destruction could breathe new life.

That was why he had subsisted on it, the pain and anger fed him. Beneath that though, his thoughts focused on something else. The times he had chosen to spare a human city. The times he had fought members of his kind who wallowed in misery, death and decay. He fought against them, to defend what was still his home despite how much had changed. To defeat those that wished the world and those he considered allies harm. He fought in those instances, not for the memory of the past, but in the hope of a future. For a return to the peace he once knew.

A defender, that's what Mothra had once claimed he could be. That despite all he had done, all he had destroyed, there was a chance to be more. It was the same as this child claimed now. To fight for survival was a basic need. To fight for something, to have a cause, made you more. And his cause was more than revenge, it was about something he forgot over the course of his countless battles. Balance, a way to right injustice, to teach those who wished harm that they would not go unopposed.

As he thought of this, the cloud began to fade, the darkness retreating. There was more to existence than revenge, more to strength than rage, more to his purpose than he realized. The pain did not control him, the anger did not need to be the only fire he fought with. He could be more, he could be greater.

He felt the energy above him more clearly now, felt the power surging within the skies. It was all there, for him, still dispersed among the clouds, but there and waiting. With what little strength he could still feel within, the dark veil now cracked, he reached out for it.

* * *

Ahsoka and Ezra broke away from Godzilla's mind as the images within began to churn and shift. When they stepped away, they looked to the open sky above the monster and saw a wonderous sight. Cascading down from the heavens in a brillant swirling display, the lights that filled Tsuburonda's sky began to enter into Godzilla. His spines glowed brightly and brillantly as the energy poured into the grey giant. As it did, the mighty beast's limbs began to shake, its body began to rise and its eyes started to stir.

"He's waking up!" Ezra shouted happily. "We did it! He's getting his energy back!"

That was when the ship above them began to shake violently and the crater rocked as if hit by series of tremors. It didn't take a genius to figure out the epicenter. Ezra himself gulped as everything started crumbling around them.

"You may want to retract that comment," Ahsoka suggested. "At least until we're not in danger of getting squashed!"

The two Force Users ran for cover as the great monster began to stir. His wounds were healing, his flesh was mending, his bones becoming whole again. The earth trembled with every bit of life pulled back into him. A glorious and terrifying display for all near. Not that either Ahsoka or Ezra could appreciate it given how they were now running like mad away from it all.

* * *

The darkness had faded almost entirely, his mind returned, his body healed. New purpose filled him, new goals beyond mere survival. The Empire sought to use this world to power their war machine, to destroy all that stood in its way. They dared desecrate nature for their own ends. It was not enough to wipe them out so he would know peace on this world. No, his anger at how they reminded him of the worst of humanity on Earth no longer held sway in his mind. Their destruction was demanded because they thought that nature could be used, that it could be tamed, that it could be theirs. For whatever faults he sensed in the Jedi creatures, they were still a force of balance. They were attuned to Nature, sought communion with it and understanding. The young male human had proven as such this day.

The Empire had to pay not for the crimes against him, not because they were more war lusting humans, but for thinking they had the right to be this way without consequence. Destruction did not always serve vengeance, it could serve for a new beginning and an end that which threatened balance. In destroying the Empire on this world, it would serve as a reminder for all time that nature was not theirs to own. For he was Nature, it's wrath incarnate, it's agent of justice. He could not be tamed or beaten. He was the earthquake. He was the hurricane. He was the tsunami. He was what none could dare challenge and they would not change that. No surrender, no retreat, never again.

It was time to finish what he started.

* * *

The fighting against the Mutant Zillo-Beasts had been forced towards the rooftops. The Rebels did what little they could to hold back the tide. The abominations swarmed the walls, filled the corridors and pressed forward at every turn. Sabine did her best to hold them off herself, but her supply of explosives was dwindling. She tossed another bomb near the edge to blow another of the monstrosities off the side. She looked to Zeb and saw him pummeling one of the mutants into the concrete roof of the building before swinging the lifeless body into another of its ilk. The other Rebels were fairing no better, fighting tooth and nail with beasts that seemed to feel no pain, who only desired the blood of their prey.

It all seemed hopeless. And then a cry echoed across the skies, low and rumbling, but familiar to Sabine. A "Skree" sound she could readily recall. The Zillo-Beasts Mutants heard it too somehow and for some reason stopped their rampage. They turned to where the noise came from, their eyes fixating on the crash site of the Star Destroyer that buried Godzilla. Swirling above it was a display of multicolored lights that appeared be funneling into the crash site. As if the radiation that filled the air was being dragged down, the lights merely following its path through the air.

Then, suddenly, an explosion of dirt and iron erupted from the crash site. Out from beneath the wrecked hulk of the ship arose the big grey reptilian form of Godzilla once more. The spines on his back danced with a technicolor display that drew the Mutant Zillo-Beasts' gaze even more towards him. Godzilla then released a powerful and devastating roar. It shook every rooftop and building still standing within the Imperial facility. Sabine, Zeb and the other Rebels covered their ears in pain while the Mutants seemed just as agitated.

As the roar died away, the Zillo-Beasts Rejects changed their targets. Something in their primative little brains had been triggered by Godzilla's roar. They snarl and gnashed their teeth back at the giant lizard, growling and bellowing at him. Without warning, they abandoned their assault on the Rebels and took off in a mad dash towards Godzilla in a frenzied pace. The Rebels watched them leave in droves, racing towards the giant reptile in the distance. Did they percieve him as a new threat? Better prey? No one could tell.

Sabine tried to track the rampaging stampede of mutants as they streamed towards Godzilla. The big grey lizard was already on his way towards the facility itself. Through her macrobinoculars installed in her helmet, she focused in on the Zillo-Beasts. They were joined by others of their kind from across the facility, following the same vicious war cry from before.

It wasn't long before they actually caught Godzilla's attention. Suddenly the giant lizard turned, the spines on his back bursting with power as he did. With one swift blast from his mouth, Godzilla burned a swath through the approaching Mutant horde. Sabine covered her eyes as the brillant flash of light filled her macrobinoculars. She pulled her helmet off, her vision trying to adjust to what had just happened. When her eyes could see again, a huge scorch mark across the volcanic earth was all that remained of the Mutants from before. They had been completely incinerated.

A great cheer rose up from the assembled Rebels once they realized what Godzilla had done. almost as if on cue, Godzilla let out another small roar as he closed on the facility. Some of the Rebels fired into the air in celebration and others started chanting the radioactive saurian's name. He had helped turn the tide for this battle yet again.

As for Sabine and Zeb, they just looked on in astonishment, pleseantly surprised by the sudden turn.

"Heh, so much for the Empire's best shot," Zeb chortled. "Not even taking a Star Destroyer to the brain could take him down."

"He's one tough angry lizard, that's for sure," Sabine added. "I think we just got our second wind."

With that in mind, Sabine, Zeb and the rest of the Rebels charged back into the fight. They descended down from the rooftops and swarmed the grounds. They made their way to the Command Center and every critical objective in between. With the Zillo-Beast Mutants mostly gone and the Imperials still in disarray, they now had a real shot at winning this.

* * *

Ahsoka and Ezra climbed out of the wreckage Godzilla had left behind in his breakout. It took awhile to scale the edge of the crater, but they finally reached solid ground at last. They could already see Godzilla in the distance, closing on the facility, rejoining the fight.

"I'm sorry I doubted your instincts, Ezra," Ahsoka apologized as they looked on. "You were right after all."

"Maybe, but I just know Kanan is going to give me a lecture either way," he admitted. "And I deserve one, I did just take off and disobey orders."

"I'm not one to judge given my history," Ahsoka said with a shrug. "It was foolhardy to run off like you did, but you did what you felt was right. Feel sorry for going against your Master, but don't be sorry for following what you believed. It's what makes us Jedi."

Ezra looked up at her with a grinning smirk.

"Us? I thought you said you weren't a Jedi anymore," he teased.

"Well, for today at least, I am again," Ahsoka coyly replied. "Now then, young Padawan we best return to your Master. We still have a battle to win."

The two Force Users took off back into the jungle. The plan now to recover their speeder bikes and get back into the fight. They had accomplished their mission, Godzilla, King of the Monsters, was back.

* * *

Darth Vader looked out across the vast volcanic plain as the beastly grey monster strode towards them. He balled his fists into a rage at the sight.

"Impossible," he growled in a low tone.

While angered at this setback, it was nothing in the grand scheme of things. There was one last card left to play. Vader turned from the window and moved quickly into the adjacent corridor. He strode up it, not turning his eyes from the door at the far end. As he walked, a few of the remaining Rejects revealed themselves, popping out of the shadows. They had not followed the war cry, they had stayed to find more victims.

Vader paid them minimal attention as he walked past. One of them lunged at him, but Vader's lightsaber sliced the beast's head in two. A second charged next only for its neck to be impaled on the Sith Lord's blade. The final one rushed from the front, but Vader picked him up with the Force. As it struggled, he brought his blade across its stomach and cut the abomination in two. He tossed the remains away and stepped over lower half. Never once did he break his stride nor look away from the door. These things inconsequential. He had bigger game to kill.

He entered the room and secured the door behind him. Before the Sith Lord was a large control panel and an equally large viewing screen in front of him. It's layout somewhat reminded him of his personal chambers. At least it would feel famliar. Vader sat down and activated the panel. He took up the controls in both hands and turned the viewing screen on.

It was time to show this dumb reptile a true monster.

* * *

The massive hangar doors opened wide, but not fast enough for what lay within. Grasping onto the opening, three giant hands forced the doors away from itself. Bursting from out of the dark arose a massive titan of flesh and steel, its giant tail lashing in the wind. It bellowed in anger and stomped over the nearby buildings of the facility, climbing over them towards the volcanic wastes beyond. When it came to the wall it flung itself off the structures, landing with a tremendous thud as it hit the blackened dirt.

It's shoulder weapon pods sprung to life, electrictiy pooled around its tails' spikes and its arms sprouted an array of blades and ranged weapons. The Cyber Zillo-Beast, now at last awakened, fixated on its one singular target, Godzilla. It roared at the opposing giant and stretched its massive arms wide in a display of aggression and dominance. Godzilla merely steeled its gaze and returned the roar with his own blood curdling scream.

A clash of titans was now inevitable. The only question left was, who would remain standing?

* * *

AN: This is it, the big battle-royale brawl you've all been waiting for! You may have paid for the whole seat, but you're only gonna need the edge! Cause it's Godzilla vs the Zillo-Beast only here at the Kaiju Splatterdome!

Anyway, thanks for reading everyone. This is pretty much the penultimate chapter. Next time is the finale and I hope to see you all there for the epic brawl, not just between Godzilla and the Cyborg Zillo-Beast, but a number of other match ups that I imagine you're just as impatient to see. Well as always you'll have to wait, quality takes time friends.

In the meantime, if you haven't yet, do leave a review and check out the profile for a new link to more notes on this chapter. This one was a prety quick write more or less, but I still got a few quips and thoughts to share. As always, thank you for your support dear readers and for sticking with me. This has been a fun ride and next time we will finally conclude it. See you then.


	10. Monster Mash

Chapter 9: Monster Mash

Godzilla looked into the cold unfeeling eyes of his opponent as it stood across from him. The cybernetic creature flexed its metallic arms about in a show of force at him in response. So this was the secret weapon the Rebels had been so fearful of. They neglected to mention it was a fellow kaiju. He was not angered by this, but he had wished they had told him sooner. It would've made their pleas easier to stomach from the beginning.

As if the robotic parts hadn't given it away, he could smell the stench of the artificial and the unnatural coming from the monster itself. This thing had been grown in a lab and had then been augmented with machine parts. He could sense nothing behind it's robotic eyes. No life, just wires and thing was a tool. The Empire had found a way to create life and then butchered it for their own ends. This abomination was a perversion of the natural world, built only to serve the will of it's human masters. This thing couldn't even be called their pet, it was a walking gun to be used at their discretion.

The Rebels were right to fear this monstrosity, for it was crime unto itself. A beast with no independence of thought, born only to be a slave, to kill those it's tyrannical overlords wished to crush. It disgusted Godzilla to even look at it, that was how wrong it felt. Yes, this thing had to be destroyed, but the initial goal he had set out with no longer held sway at the forefront of the atomic saurian's mind. Making this world safe for him to rule alone was now secondary, the Jedi had shown him that. This thing had to die because of what it represented, he saw that now. The Empire's perversion could not be allowed to escape this world and serve at it's behest. He would not allow it. He would put this unfortunate monster out of it's misery and see to it that the Empire would never again give life to more like it. Nature would not be enslaved to serve their war.

After another roar of defiance, Godzilla charged at the cyborg Zillo-Beast, jaws open wide. His opponent did the same, screeching at the way with its arms raised into attack position. The two massive monsters collided violently, Godzilla's jaws closing in around the cyborg's neck. The Zillo-Beast pounded one fist against the saurian's eye and grasped another around his neck. Even as he was choked, Godzilla continued to push the Zillo-Beast backwards, his teeth keeping a firm grip on his enemy. Then the Zillo-Beast's third fist came crashing down on Godzilla's head. The first punch loosened Godzilla's bite slightly, the second was a far worse hit. A cutting pain creased the atomic lizard's forehead and he released his hold on the Zillo-Beast's neck.

As he backed away, Godzilla spotted a huge saw blade jutting out of the side of his opponent's fist. It retracted back inside before too long. The cyborg then punched Godzilla again along the jaw with his other hand and continued to choke the giant lizard. Finally, he grabbed at the hand at his throat and forced it loose. He prepared to deliver a slash back at the Zillo-Beast, but was suddenly interrupted when the cyborg delivered a kick to his lower jaw. Godzilla stumbled back slightly as the Zillo-Beast spin about, its tail aimed directly at his neck. Electricity arced between the pointed spikes along the tail's tip. They slashed into Godzilla's scaly skin around his neck. The electricity now jumped from the spikes to the monster king himself, sending several hundred thousand volts through his system.

Godzilla roared in pain but he fought through it. He grabbed the tail and pulled it free from his neck. He tugged on the tail and forced the cyborg towards him where he punched it in the back. The Zillo-Beast barely flinched and delivered a backwards chop with it's third arm. The saw blade returned, slicing into the side of Godzilla's arm. He released the tail and quickly raised his other arm to block and incoming punch from the Zillo-Beast as it turned back towards him. The cyborg then went in to bite Godzilla on the neck, but the saurian moved faster, punching the test-tube monster's face away from his throat. He then raised up his foot to deliver a powerful kick to the cybernetic beast's chest that sent him stumbling away.

That didn't deter the cyborg though. It turned all three of it's arms towards Godzilla and activated another weapon, powerful energy cannons that all targeted Godzilla from afar. It started blasting away, peppering the giant lizard's body with explosions. Godzilla absorbed the blows as best he could and charged up his atomic beam. He sent a sweeping blast across the Zillo-Beast's field of vision, blinding it's targeting systems. As the smoke and fires raged in front of it, Godzilla launched himself forward and delivered a powerful blow square into it's nose. The cyborg reacted quickly, forcing both of its arm cannons into Godzilla's chest and firing a barrage of shots. Godzilla tumbled back, his torso smoking from all the close range shots.

This artificial monster was a lot quicker and smarter than Godzilla had given it credit for. He sensed no will of it's own, just wires and metal bits inside its head. He suspected it would act like a robot, but it wasn't so. When it came at him again, it prepared a flying punch as it jumped slightly into the air. Godzilla used that as leverage and grabbed the arm. He then grasped at the cyborg's neck and deftly tossed it over his shoulder. He suspected the machine to tumble down into a heap, but somehow it managed to land like a cat on all fours (with the extra one on the back lashing about slightly) before standing back up with relative ease.

Godzilla cocked his head in a mixture of bemusement and confusion. This had to be this creature's first fight and yet it felt seasoned. Could programming give it such capabilities? It didn't seem possible. The Zillo-Beast now charged again, racing at Godzilla like it did before. The giant lizard raised his arm slightly to prepare to catch the beast in the head, but it ducked the swing at the last second and sliced Godzilla's side with one of the saw blades in it's hand. Godzilla moved away and turned to face the creature again. It stared him down in kind with a cold glare, it's cybernetic eye on the left side of its face glowing bright red.

Godzilla realized the disadvantage he was faced with. As strong as he was, he could still feel pain. This thing couldn't. Even the other cybernetic enemies he had faced before could feel pain, this thing didn't. He didn't know why, but it meant he'd have to fight smarter. Brute strength alone would not prevail against this abomination, he needed to find a weakness and fast.

* * *

Getting back to the speeder and navigating them out of the tangled jungle interior took a bit of time, but eventually Ahsoka and Ezra were on their way. They avoided the raging melee now underway in earnest just a few kilometers away from them as they raced across the volcanic plain. Godzilla was getting hit by heavy cannon fire currently. It didn't seem to hurt him too badly, but it was enough to antagonize him into trying to lash out more. Ahsoka watched as the giant lizard swung his tail at the cyborg Zillo-Beast, but missed as it deftly backed away. When Godzilla went in for another close quarters struggle, the Cyborg grabbed the giant lizard's jaws and held them open. He then began beating the giant radioactive creature with his third free hand before pushing him away.

"He must still be trying to recover after what happened," Ezra suggested.

Possible, but Ahsoka sensed something else at work. She noted how the Zillo-Beast moved, how it reacted, what its tactics were. Goading Godzilla into aggressive moves, quick thinking, ample recovery techniques, it felt familiar to her somehow. She couldn't put her finger on it though. Overall there wasn't much she could really do anyway, Godzilla was on his own for this fight. Right now, Ahsoka needed to get Ezra to the battlefield and help him find his crew. Then they could see about figuring out a way to destroy the Cyber Zillo-Beast once everything else was resolved.

Their speeder came to a stop near the outskirts of the breached outer wall of the facility. They jumped off the bike and ran up to the now relatively abandoned Imperial position. They found bodies of dead Rebels and Imperials strewn about the field. The still active squads had probably already pressed on ahead of them, moving towards the Command Center to preoccupy the majority of the Imperial Forces. If that was the case, things were going according to plan. They'd find out more once they linked up with them and got a report on the situation.

As they looked about the deserted field, they heard the battle between the giants still raging behind them. The two looked back to see Godzilla and the Zillo-Beast trading blows. Punches and swipes from left and right struck both creatures for awhile. Godzilla delivered a gut punch to his foe before swinging in a furious haymaker towards the Zillo-Beast's electronic eye. The cyborg suddenly ducked and butted his head into the grey giant. Godzilla's head flew up, but he recovered quickly and tried to throw another punch. This time however, the Zillo-Beast caught the strike with one hand and then struck Godzilla with the third hand atop his back. The saw blade embedded in the fist slashed Godzilla across his face before the Zillo-Beast pulled the giant lizard's still captured arm backwards. A pained roar sounded before the Zillo-Beast released the arm and then rose up to deliver a powerful kick into Godzilla's face.

"That thing is stronger than we anticipated," Ahsoka observed as Godzilla stumbled backwards.

"It's probably all the cybernetics boosting his strength and agility," Ezra suggested. "Only way it could be pulling this kind of stuff off."

Ahsoka didn't doubt the cybernetics were playing a role, but something still felt off. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a downed Stormtrooper. For whatever reason she was drawn to it, as she saw something emblazoned across the soldier's arm. It was a patch of some kind, an insignia she had once served beside. The 501st, a hold over from the original in the Clone Wars. Ahsoka's interest was suddenly piqued by this discovery and a thought occurred to her.

She looked back to the ongoing battle between Godzilla and the Cyborg Zillo-Beast and watched the latter spin itself about. The cyborg's blades slashed Godzilla across his chest in quick succession, but luckily the big grey lizard managed to duck the electrified tail this time. Godzilla bit at the Zillo-Beast right arm as it turned around. The Cyborg placed the laser cannon in it's hand to it's adversary's head and fired. Godzilla released his opponent as his head began to smoke and he backed away.

Whether her sudden suspicions were right or not, one thing was certain to her now. That cyborg was not doing this on it's own. The reactions, the moves, the methods, the tactics, it all smelt of someone operating behind the scenes. Something was controlling this creature and giving it an edge.

"Ezra, I need you go find your Master and your friends," she ordered the young Apprentice. "There's something I have to look into."

"What is it?" He asked sincerely. "Can I help?"

"No, right now your crew needs you more than me," she assured him. "Don't worry, I will find you all when I'm done."

Ahsoka moved into the facility, looking back only briefly at the boy.

"I promise, I'll be back as soon as I can," she called out.

She would've told him the whole truth, but she didn't want Ezra's emotions getting in the way here. He had helped Godzilla enough today, it was time she stuck her neck out for the big reptile. Besides, if she was right about who was at those controls, Ezra wouldn't stand a chance. She just hoped Godzilla could last long enough in his current state for her to even the odds again.

* * *

So this was what they had been protecting all along. Why they were here from on this planet in the first place. Arch stood there watching the two monsters pummel each other, particularly the bigger cybernetic version of the smaller creatures that had tried to kill him earlier. Everything suddenly fit, the secrecy, the massive resource gathering, the security, that island with the mock-up city, this giant science facility, all to create a huge living super weapon that was currently fighting Alpha Predator One.

In all honesty, he wasn't entirely sure it was a satisfactory answer to his questions. His fellow soldiers had died at the hands of this thing's smaller brethren. Part of him wanted to believe the Rebels had accidentally set them loose like idiots, but another part of him wondered if that really mattered. The Empire had still made them, probably in an effort to perfect this giant one. Ultimately, as far as he was concerned, no matter who set the things free, it was the scientists who made it who were at fault in the first place.

What was this giant one supposed to be for anyway? Probably just for this kind of thing, squashing Rebel attacks. Nice of them to set it loose now and have it attack the giant lizard instead. Hell, they could've done that way earlier, but Arch supposed they didn't want to risk destroying the stupid thing. Better to let the fodder tire the big monster out first before unleashing their own.

Arch wasn't sure where all these semi-insubordinate thoughts were coming from. Maybe it was just the sting of Devo's death still fresh in his mind that was affecting him. It could've been the preceeding days and all the crap they had gone through. Command made constant bad decisions, all of them without regard to him and his fellow soldiers' lives. They threw them at the meat grinder of this giant again and again, all ultimately to protect their little science project. He didn't sign up for this. He didn't join to become a glorified bodyguard to a monster.

His thoughts of anger made it impossible to enjoy the fact Alpha Predator One was seemingly on the ropes from this thing. He was putting up a terrific fight, but this half-machine monster appeared to have the upper hand. It should've been a great moment after watching the big lizard appear alive once more, it's survival being a blow to what little morale he had left. Witnessing a monster on his side fight the big grey beast should've been glorious, but instead it left him cold. None of it felt like it was worth it anymore. They had bled countless drops of blood to protect this thing, that was all Arch could think of.

Regardless of his thoughts, he decided to turn his attention to something he could do. This fight with Alpha Predator One was out of his hands now. He had to re-focus on the Rebels. They were still in the complex and they had regained the advantage from all appearances. He could see the fighting had resumed and there weren't many Stormtroopers left in key areas to stop them. The Mutants had hurt the Imperials worse than anyone it seemed. Arch scanned the radio waves, trying to hear if there were any nearby squads he could link up with. Eventually, he found something on the comms of note.

"_Alarms triggered in the main servers, possible Rebel activity. Move to intercept."_

Arch brought up his holomap of the facility and saw he wasn't too far away from there. If he hurried, he could link up with a squad. He didn't expect to accomplish much at this point, but at least he'd be doing something of his own accord. With no Kamo or Devo around to give orders and no clear directive from Command, he had to play this by ear, choose his own battles for once. Fine by him, maybe with some luck he'd actually find a fight that was worth it in all of this.

* * *

For a brief moment, Kanan had been a Padawan again. Specifically, a Padawan watching as soldiers he fought beside turned against him suddenly. Memories of his Master being murdered in cold-blood filled his head the instant the Clone had revealed his face. The same words he heard from them uttered once over a decade before, and then again mere moments ago, still echoed in his ears, "Good Soldiers Follow Orders." The fear passed quickly though, he wasn't a Padawan anymore. He wasn't a scared naive kid with fantasies of glory and fame dancing around in his head. He was older, wiser, stronger and he was more prepared this time.

He hid in the shadows of the assembly area for the moment, carefully watching for the Clone he knew was out there. For whatever reason, this one thought Kanan had come here to kill him, that he was after revenge. Kanan couldn't deny he had strong feelings about Clones, admittedly biased ones but well deserved regardless. He never tried to seek out Clones to kill at random though, partly because the ones that killed his Master were dead anyway and mainly because that was not the Jedi way. This Clone, however, thought that was exactly what he was here for and that gave him a slight edge. This time, it was the Clone who was more afraid than him and he could use that.

"Hiding like a coward are we?" The Clone asked aloud in anger. "Guess not much has changed then has it? Only way you could've survived this long."

Kanan kept out of sight, dashing to another piece of machinery for cover. The Clone kept scanning the room, his gun following his line of sight as he walked. Scared or not, he still figured himself the hunter in this scenario that much was clear.

"I know you're not alone either," he continued. "I know there's at least two more of you running around. You're controlling that big reptile out there. I remember you Jedi could do that with animals, one of your best tricks. Well, once you're all gone he'll be easier to contend with."

"You really think you can take on three Jedi?" Kanan asked aloud before bolting to another piece of machinery.

The rotary blaster slashed through the air, cutting up bits of metal as it fired over a hundred bolts a second. The Clone stopped after one pull of the trigger and scanned the area more.

"You wanna call them go ahead," he declared, carefully eyeing the platforms above him. "They won't make it in time. Even if they do, I already rigged a few key spots in here with explosives. Once I saw that big cyborg monster in the other room I realized you'd be coming this way eventually. Guess it's my luck more people were concerned with the other Rebels, getting in here was easy once you people breached the perimeter. Point is, the second every Force User I'm aware of shows up in here, I'm sending this place up in a puff smoke with everyone in it."

"You think the Empire is going to be okay with you blowing up their stuff?" Kanan asked as he quickly jumped to another platform and hid.

"Acceptable losses," the Clone countered as he changed direction. "This entire facility has just been compromised. Standard protocol requires all important assets to be moved off site in such an eventuality. The only reason the Empire came here was for secrecy. They've lost that now. Hell, I'm probably saving them the time scuttling part of the place for them."

Kanan wasn't about to call Ahsoka and Ezra in anyway. He didn't want to put them at risk along with himself. There was only one Clone to be sure, but it would be foolish to pretend he wasn't a threat. This one knew there were three of them and prepared a strategy beforehand. He knew what he was doing and he was prepared to potentially kill himself in the process of killing all of them. It was better to deal with him alone and not suck the others into this.

"I always suspected some of you would come back," he cried out. "In the back of my mind, I always knew a few of you were alive. You Jedi are a sneaky lot, very slippery, with a lot of little tricks up your sleeves to boot. You all thought you were so clever. That's what made you think you could take over back when."

"Is that what you think or what the Empire told you to think in your Pod?" Kanan asked back.

He then reached out with the Force and caused some cybernetic pieces to fall down to the factory floor. The Clone saw them tumbling towards him and ran out of the way just in time as a large metal hinge crashed through a platform and nearly crushed him.

"Don't try to play your mind games on me," the Clone argued. "I know what happened. You betrayed us, all of us. Sworn defenders of the Republic on the outside, but always plotting behind closed doors. Waiting for the day when you could use the war to overthrow the very Government you sought to protect."

"You sound just like a propaganda poster, you know that?" Kanan shouted down, his voice echoing throughout the chamber. "We didn't betray anyone, you did. You turned on the Republic and helped a dictator take power."

"We did our duty," the Clone argued vigorously. "Good soldiers follow orders! I followed them! I did what I had to, for the Republic."

"Don't you mean the Empire?" Kanan countered quickly as he jumped to another platform. "The Republic doesn't exist anymore because of you."

The Clone let off a few bolts suddenly in a widespread. They barely missed Kanan, who quickly took off to another set of cover.

"Fine, I did it for the Empire then," he relented. "But that doesn't change anything. I did what I had to. I fulfilled my mission. The fact you're here, bringing a bunch of terrorists to attack fellow soldiers, proves us in the right. Whatever I did, I did for the good of the Galaxy."

Kanan didn't get the chance to respond, as he heard something clanging against some nearby machines. Suspecting what it was, he made a dash for another platform. He reached it just seconds before an explosion ripped apart a large chunk of an assembly line and sent it crashing to the floor. As the dust finally settled, Kanan could see the Clone looking through the wreckage.

"Gonna have to be quicker than that," Kanan shouted down at him, taking off once more.

"You can't hide forever, Jedi," the Clone declared. "There's nowhere to run. I hunted your kind down easily enough in their own temple. How long do you think you can stay out of sight in here?"

Long enough, Kanan thought to himself. He just needed to take his time and find the right moment to strike. Grabbing his blaster in one hand, he made his way down one end of the platform, keeping an eye out for the Clone to cross his path.

"Attacking the Jedi in their own home is nothing to be proud of," Kanan goaded him. "You desecrated a place of peace and hope with mass murder."

"I don't have to feel proud," the Clone shot back. "Never said I was. It was simply the only way. You wouldn't go quietly, you would've attacked soon enough. We had to act while you were off your guard. It was our only option."

This conversation of sorts suddenly felt a lot stranger to him. Kanan suspected he'd try to goad him out of hiding by mocking the deaths of the Jedi. That he'd keep calling them easy pickings or relate a bunch of foolish last stands. Instead, he just kept trying to justify it, keeping it vague. Why wasn't he making this personal? Why wasn't he trying to make him angry? He had been mentally preparing himself for him to try something like that, but he didn't.

"Not everyone in that temple was a powerful Jedi Knight," Kanan argued back, hearing the Clone get closer. "There were children, younglings, padawans who hadn't even gotten their lightsabers yet. You're telling me you had no problems murdering them all? That everyone that night was just a traitor to you?"

The Clone's footsteps stopped suddenly. Kanan suspected a response, another excuse or justification, the Clone finally laughing about how he didn't care or something. Nothing came though, just silence. He looked out slightly to see the Clone standing his head down with his hand clutching at his head. He began shaking it heavily and then suddenly shouted something.

"I didn't," he said. "I never did. It didn't happen. I didn't. I had to do it. It had to be done. We had orders."

"You're contradicting yourself," Kanan noted, moving towards his next position along the side of the platform.

"Shut up!" The Clone shouted up at him. "I'm not a murderer! I'm a soldier! A good soldier! Good soldiers follow orders!"

He raised his rotary blaster up to the platform, pointing where Kanan had been. This was his chance. Kanan pointed his blaster out into the open and leveled it at the Clone, ready to fire and end this. Then, the Clone spoke once again.

"And I will execute mine!"

The rotary blaster suddenly turned, pointing towards Kanan's position. The Clone pulled the trigger and hundreds of blaster rounds started firing at him. Kanan ducked behind cover again as a blaze of laser bolts shot through the air, blasting bits of machinery and metal everywhere. Eventually, the laser bolts turned towards the platform supports and began to slash through them. He only had seconds to move before it was too late. Igniting his lightsaber once again, Kanan raised it up to block incoming shots as he ran across the crumbling platform. Just as he managed to get off it, the support system gave way. The catwalk and parts of the assembly line fell down to the factory floor below, nearly taking Kanan with them.

As he caught his breath, he realized the Clone was smarter for his age than Kanan gave him credit for. He had caught on to his trap, probably guessed where he actually was in the platforms above. It was unlikely he'd fall for it again. As he got up, he heard something clanging against a nearby ladder. Before he knew it, the Clone was up on his level again, the still smoking rotary blaster pointed right at the Jedi.

"Told you," the Clone stated. "Nowhere to run."

Kanan raised the lightsaber to block the laser bolts as the Clone pulled the trigger again. He deflected the incoming shots, but with so many shots coming at him, Kanan knew it was a losing defense strategy. He ducked around a nearby corner and made a dash along the platforms. He had lost the high ground, the Clone was onto him and he couldn't risk calling for help. He needed to find a way to beat this guy and fast.

* * *

Controlling a giant monster wasn't really the same as a starfighter, but some of the principles still applied. You turned the sticks one way, activated weapons in sequence and adjusted power accordingly to your desired tactics. For Darth Vader, it was little trouble controlling this cyborg. The Force flowed through every action, it was why he was such a great pilot to begin with. It was no different here, Alpha Predator One might as well have been just another Starfighter. What strength and skill the creature had to match it's determination, it was nothing against Vader's experience and own power. The Darkside of the Force flowed through him and thus it did so through the Cyborg Zillo-Beast. No creature could withstand it.

Yet he had hoped this would've been over sooner. The creature was clearly still weak from Vader's last attempt to kill him and yet, as miraculous as its survival, it kept fighting. Perhaps even fiercer than before. Vader could not understand why, but he felt as if something had changed. No matter though, it would not be enough.

Once more the monster came again, but not head-on this time. It was changing its tactics, trying to get around Vader's defenses. The reptile turned sharply to the left as it moved in, jaws wide open and ready to bite in the Zillo-Beast's side. Vader turned the controls to counter this attack with a sideways punch. The monster ducked the attack and then bit into the wrist of the cyborg's arm. He then tried to pull, attempting to flip the cyborg over or even rip the arm off. Vader quickly countered this action, using the third arm to slice into the back of the creature's neck with its saw blades.

Alpha Predator One let go of the arm he was biting, but reached up to grab the third arm in the process. He then pulled on the arm, forcing the Zillo-Beast's head towards him. When it was close enough, he punched the Cyborg in the face and Vader's screens went static for a brief moment. The Zillo-Beast must've been knocked back, because when the image returned the Zillo-Beast was already being pulled in a second time. The overgrown lizard kept a firm grip on the third arm the whole time, using it to force his opponent's face into his fist over and over again. And he'd keep doing it until the cyborg was dead.

Warning lights and sirens screamed loudly as Vader attempted to counter. He finally managed to raise the Zillo-Beast's foot and kick Alpha Predator One's under his jaw. The reptile grabbed his mouth in pain and then Vader, free once again, had the Zillo-Beast deliver a second blow, using the tail once again. The electrical spikes struck against the side of the monster's mouth and sent the big lizard toppling over onto his back.

Vader moved the Cyborg over and stared down at the giant. For all it's strength and cunning, the fact remained that his own flesh inevitably failed him. The Cyborg Zillo-Beast could feel no pain and therefore it lacked the one thing that would always hold Alpha Predator One back. The creature could not harness that pain into hatred like him, like all Sith did. For Vader, Pain was a strength, for this dumb animal it was a chain.

"Now to end this," Vader stated simply.

Vader raised the Cyborg's foot and prepared to slam it onto the downed lizard's head. No more half measures, he'd make sure it was dead this time by crushing it's head. But as the foot speeded towards the creature's skull, the reptile's arms shot up and grabbed the foot in mid-air. It then forced itself up, snarling as it did. It pushed the leg away from him, causing the Zillo-Beast to stumble before delivering a powerful tail swipe that knocked the cyborg clear across the battlefield and into the perimeter wall of the science lab complex.

As the smoke cleared, Vader forced the cyborg to stand up amongst the debris. He stared once more at the giant lizard, it's massive chest heaving with every deep breath and it's eyes staring unwaveringly directly at Zillo-Beast's own. Vader had seen this look on many before, a sense of purpose, of drive, of unyielding determination to stand against the inevitable. It was the same look on Obi-Wan when they faced each other on Mustafar. It was how Captain Rex looked before every battle they fought together. It was Ahsoka's face whenever she stood against an enemy that was out of her league.

Every one of those memories made his hatred greater, his anger towards this creature grow. It did not know when to lay down and die. It would learn, one way or another. It was tired, still weak from before. The outcome of this fight was all but certain.

"You are indeed impressive, monster," Vader admitted aloud. "But you are no match for the Darkside. Nothing is."

Vader flicked a few of the switches along the control board, transferring power from the electrical nodes in the tail to all three hands. The Cyborg punched them together as they charged and sparks arced between the balled fists. Alpha Predator One just roared and raised its claws as the cyborg charged, Vader punched once, the creature blocking him, before swiping again and striking the lizard in the face with a powerful electrically charged haymaker. He'd beat this thing to death if he had to. And once the monster fell for good, the Rebels swarming the base would learn the same lesson. That nothing could face the Empire and survive its wrath.

* * *

Ahsoka took a brief pause to watch the battle through a large hole blown out of a wall. Godzilla was standing bravely against the cybernetic monstrosity, but courage and drive were not enough. He was still weak from his earlier encounter, as Ezra suspected. He had not yet fully absorbed enough radiation to bring him up to full strength. Unless something changed, and fast, he would not survive. Ahsoka hoped that if she was successful, it would turn the tide back in the monster king's favor. It was the only hope they had now if they wanted the Zillo-Beast it or not, Godzilla's victory in this battle was tied to that of the Rebels' own success.

Weathering the onslaught of punches, Godzilla struck out with a single claw swipe that batted the cyborg away. He then threw his entire body weight into a powerful shoulder check that pushed his adversary away from him. Godzilla lumbered after his opponent, determined to keep up the fight. This took him out of Ahsoka's direct view, as the open gash no longer provided a visual. She continued on, the Force as her only guide. Something told her there was another presence in this facility, something working the strings of the Zillo-Beast. The source was not far, although it was through areas of the complex that the Rebels had not yet breached.

She only got a few more feet down the platform before a trio of Stormtroopers and an Imperial Officer appeared around the corner. They spotted her instantly and pointed their guns towards her. That was the problem with being a Togruta, it was really hard not to stand out. Especially when you were wandering the halls of an Imperial installation.

"There's one, take her down!" The officer ordered.

Ahsoka wasted no time in reacting, she pulled out one of her lightsabers, activated it and blocked the incoming shots. She thought she heard the Imperials shout aloud in surprise at the revelation of what she was, but it wouldn't matter. As they kept firing, she advanced and their blasts bounced back off to strike the Imperials down. The officer was the last one standing and Ahsoka easily aimed a final shot right back into his face. As the man went down she looked over their bodies.

The fact they had spotted her so easily seeped in even more. If her concerns were right, then what she was about to do was incredibly risky. She couldn't completely hide her species, but she could hide her face. At least partially anyway, hopefully that would be enough.

She cut a large piece of cloth off the officer's uniform, big enough to wrap around her head. She then wrapped the makeshift bandana around her face, covering her mouth and nose. It wasn't much, but at least it would partially hide her identity from whoever was at that cyborg's controls. Then again, it was hard to hide anything from a fellow Force User.

She could still hear Godzilla's battle raging outside. Her makeshift disguise secure, she hurried to her destination. She suspected she wouldn't like what she found there, but it didn't matter. Her instincts told her it was where she needed to be right now.

* * *

Moira never liked being stuck on the ground. She belonged in the air, that was her element, where she knew the score. Down in the dirt, nothing was ever so clear cut to her. She was just grateful that most of the surviving Stormtroopers still couldn't hit the backside of a bloated bantha. It probably had a little to do though with the fact they didn't want to damage their precious servers with all their valuable research.

She fired up at the scaffolding above them, but her shots went a bit wide. The Stormtrooper she was aiming for returned fire and she ducked back into cover. She looked over to Jetty who was leaning partially out of cover himself and firing at the Stormtroopers above. He jumped back into cover as a few dozen blaster bolts hit his server. They stopped moments later and Moira thought she heard one of Imps shout in anger.

"I told you to watch the computers, idiot!"

So they were being careful about destroying their stupid servers. At least that was one advantage they had. She looked over to Chopper, still fiddling with the computer port.

"How much longer is it gonna take?" She asked him.

The astromech just growled a bunch of annoyed electronic grunts at her in response.

"Well, work faster then!" Moira growled back.

She stuck her blaster out again and fired on the Troopers once more. Her shot managed to hit one of them this time, stopping the others in their tracks before they could get to their flank. She wouldn't be able to keep that from happening for long. They needed a new plan. She tried scanning the upper platform before spotting a power conduit near the Imps' position. Her blaster probably wasn't enough to breach the shielding around it, but maybe someone with a rifle could.

"Jetty, can you hit that thing?" Moira asked the droid as she pointed to the target.

"Roger, roger," Jetty happily replied, giving a thumbs up as he did.

Jetty took aim and released a wild spray of laser fire. The power conduit exploded into a burst of electricity and took out two Stormtroopers as it went off. Arching pulses of wild energy prevented any further movement along the upper platform, not until they managed to shut the power off. They had bought Chopper more time, but Moira knew Imps. She knew it wouldn't slow them down forever.

"Really starting to think we should've just bombed this place," she argued aloud. "Honestly, how much data can you recover from melted slag?"

Chopper countered her statement with a series of annoyed electronic grunts.

"Oh and this is somehow less risky," Moira replied in equal displeasure. "Just delete this Imp Science Junk already so we can get the hell out of this hole!"

She went to fire on the Stormtroopers once more, but quickly ducked back behind her server when a barrage of fire raked the ground in front of her. Great, someone broke out the heavy blaster repeater up there. This was not what she needed right now.

"Enough of these games, Rebel!" Demanded one of the Stormtroopers. "Our reinforcements are on their way. Whatever you're doing to our data won't matter, you won't get out of here alive."

"That's all you people ever say you know," Moira shouted back. "It's gotten seriously old. Honestly, do they give you Imps like a book of phrases to say when in the field? Do they list all the times it's appropriate to say Rebel Scum? Cause if they do, maybe they should re-prioritize on making you idiots decent shots instead! Maybe then you'd actually hit something!"

Another raking of blaster bolts cascaded across the ground.

"I can assure you, we won't miss you," the trooper promised. "Call off your droids or we'll start shooting through the Servers just to get to you!"

Moira suddenly felt this was a bit off. She would've put this up to them just trying to scare her or taunt her into action. But why would they start that now? Seems a bit pointless to ask for a surrender after you've killed a few of their friends. And really? Now they were ready to start hitting the servers and risking the data they were probably told to recover? She supposed it was possible, but it just felt like they were too quick to turn around on that. No, something was off here. It felt like they were doing what she did in the air, drawing her attention to them. As if they were trying to... distract her.

Moira turned to their left flank. No one on the platform above, but maybe they weren't on the platform. She looked to Jetty and motioned him over to the left side of the servers. The droid nodded while she kept up the ruse.

"What's it matter anyway? Your little science project is exposed now," she told them. "How many credits is it gonna cost the Empire to rebuild everything you need, data or no data? And when they destroy the weapon you've been making here, then you're back to square one. Seems pretty pointless to still be here."

"That's not your concern," the Stormtrooper reiterated. "You try to escape and we'll cut you down. That's all you should be thinking about."

Moira looked to see Jetty nearing the other end of the servers. If they were trying something they'd know soon enough.

"And you'd think I'd prefer who knows how many months of torture before being executed then?" She asked with a chuckle. "That's the problem with the whole iron fisted regime thing guys, it's really hard to convince people you care at all about negotiating."

"This is not a negotiation," the trooper insisted. "Surrender or die, those are your only options."

Suddenly someone appeared around the corner of Jetty's server, a Scout trooper of all things. Jetty screamed in surprise as the Imp grabbed his head suddenly and threw him against the opposite server. Moira took aim with her blaster just as the Imp aimed his at Chopper.

"You didn't even wait for me to refuse the stock Imp demand," Moira told him. "How incredibly rude of you. Now put the rifle down and back away from my droid friends."

"Tell your droid friend to get out of the system and I'll consider it," the Imp replied.

Moira looked to see Jetty was still functioning, thank the Maker. The Imp didn't spot it though, still leaving his gun trained on Chopper as he worked. He apparently knew the real danger here and was relying on his trigger being faster than Moira's. That may have been true, but it wouldn't matter.

"Need I remind you what your pal up there just said," she replied to the Scout with a grin. "This is not a negotiation."

Jetty pulled his rifle and shot the Scout trooper in the back of the leg. The Imp's gun misfired as he stumbled. Moira rushed up and clocked the man in the jaw with her blaster, where he fell to the ground limp on his back. She grabbed the rifle away from his unconscious form and aimed it through one of the breaks in the server towers. She fired a few bursts, killing at least one trooper on the platforms above. As she back away into cover, Chopper chirped happily over to her.

"It's done?" She asked. "All the data is getting deleted?"

Chopper beeped a satisfied response in kind, saying it would be less than a minute before these servers were empty husks.

"Then lets book," she ordered, helping her downed battledroid to his feet. "Jetty, escape plan alpha!"

"Roger, roger," the battledroid stated with a thumbs up.

Jetty pulled a smoke grenade off his waist, activated it and tossed it into the air. As it was flying, Moira shot it, creating a huge instant cloud burst. The Stormtroopers above were effectively blind.

"Shoot! Shoot everything! She's making a break for it!"

The Imp on the heavy repeater began blasting up a storm through the Server room. Meanwhile, Moira and the droids were ducking the incoming fire and rushing towards the back exit. There was probably going to be a few Imps outside just in case this happened. If that was the case they'd have to shoot their way out.

As they neared the exit though, Chopper beeped over at Moira, asking her for the rifle. She tossed the weapon over and Chooper caught it in one of his robotic arms that sprouted from his head. He then dropped down one big wheel in front and sped towards the exit. It opened moments later, to reveal two stormtroopers trying to block their way. Only for them to see the image of a screaming little astromech, armed with a gun charging and shooting at them. Needless to say they ran right back out the door as the laser fire came at them. One of them got mowed down as Chopper raced through the exit, the astromech's bulk knocking him into a wall. Moira and Jetty followed closely after him.

"Let's get to your ship, Chop," she told the droid. "I've had enough of the ground for one day."

* * *

Ezra made his way through the facility, trying to find his friends. He decided that heading towards the sound of the most blaster fire was the most surefire way of locating them. Surely at least one of them was on the front lines. He soon found himself closing in on the command center for the entire base. The Rebels now had the Empire boxed inside there from the look of things. While tying up the Imperials with the defense of their Command Center had been the initial goal, it seemed like that had shifted a bit. The Rebels were pretty much on the verge of overrunning it by the time Ezra showed up.

The Stormtroopers were holding out, if only just. They had set up a number of laser turrets to keep the Rebels out, pinning a number of them down on both the ground and inside buildings nearby. Ezra had to duck and run as one of the turrets tore through a wall and caused debris to fall. After that, he worked his way through the Rebels around him, keeping his head low as laser fire was exchanged overhead. He scanned around him all the while, until he spotted pink Mandalorian armor just ahead. Sabine was still fighting, her twin blasters taking shots at the bucketheads in front of her. Zeb was there too, doing the same. He quickly scurried over to them, dropping in beside them.

"Hey guys," he greeted as he plopped down beside them.

"Finally decided to join the fun, huh?" Sabine asked, sounding a bit annoyed. "Bout time."

"I was busy getting our trump card back into play," Ezra reminded her.

"I noticed," Sabine replied, still taking shots at the troopers. "It's why I'm only slightly angry with you."

A sudden barrage of laser bolts forced Sabine and Zeb to duck down into cover beside Ezra. Fire rained down on their barrier, scorching the metal with every shot. Despite the chaos around them, the three crew members remained calm and huddled together as the shots kept coming.

"Okay, we may have gotten a bit overeager here," Sabine sighed. "We never actually planned to take the Command Center, but after every went absolutely insane for a bit things have shifted a bit here."

"If we can just get past those turrets we could get inside," Zeb growled. "What's left of their command structure will completely fall apart. Making everything else a whole lot easier after that."

"Well I'm here, so I might as well help with that and make up for lost time," Ezra suggested. "Any ideas?"

"Yes," Sabine replied with a chuckle. "All of them involving my favorite thing of course."

She held out a few high explosive grenades, about all she really seemed to have left at this point.

"I could throw them, but I'd rather not take the chance of missing," she explained. "But a Jedi can take the margin of error out of the equation."

"Sounds up my alley," Ezra nodded with determination. "Let's do it."

Sabine activated one of the grenades, raised her arm back, aiming for her target and threw. It was a good throw, but as suspected they were just too far to reach the turret. Ezra then reached out with the Force, however, and stopped the explosive as it was starting to drop. With his influence, he pushed the deadly little bomb a few feet farther. He let the grenade drop and allowed it to roll just beneath the turret. The gunner spotted it a split second before it detonated. Both him and his gun went up in a huge burst of fire and smoke.

Sabine threw a second and Ezra was right on it, pushing the grenade out the gate. It was enough to get it within spitting distance over the head of the targeted gunner when it exploded in mid air. The airburst of shrapnel took out the gunner as well as a number of Troopers nearby.

"One more, central turret in the overlook area above the main gate," Sabine told him. "Opening is small though."

"I can do it," Ezra assured me. "I've had to move far bigger things today."

He watched as Sabine activated the grenade and tossed it as hard as she could, adding a slight bit of spin to the explosive as it flew. Ezra reached out through the Force, guiding the bomb as if it were torpedo more than anything. He aimed it's path, redirecting it as best he could through the air, forcing it to head towards the small pillbox-like opening where the turret fire was coming from. As it rocketed through the narrow space, Ezra released his hold. Moments later a huge burst of flame ejected outward and guns at last fell silent.

"Everyone move in! Finish them off!" Shouted one of the nearby Rebel Commanders.

With a huge gap in the Imperial's line of defense, the Rebels started pouring through. The Stormtroopers weren't about to give up though, they tried to rally and establish a perimeter. Not easy to do when you were suddenly lacking a few heavy guns. Zeb was already moving up with the other Rebels, firing his Bo-Rifle at sharpshooters along the Command Center's roof. Sabine and Ezra followed, covering the ground assault as they moved in.

One of the Rebels soon reached the gate and placed a charge on the door. He backed away and detonated the explosive, opening up the way inside the structure. Rebels rushed in, moving over downed Stormtroopers caught in the blast and firing at those now retreating into the facility. It wouldn't be long until they reached the Command and Control room at the top.

As Ezra, Sabine and Zeb reached the doorway, however, their comms started going off. It was on the secure channel, meaning it could only be Kanan or Hera. Sabine answered first.

"Spectre Five here," she responded. "Go ahead."

"_This is Spectre Two,"_ Hera's voice responded. _"Where are you guys?"_

"In the middle of assaulting the Imperial Command Center," Sabine answered. "I know, not part of the plan but the Empire is stretched to breaking here and every Field Commander decided to switch things up."

"_Doesn't matter," _Hera growled. _"Are the others with you?"_

"Yeah, including our runaway," Sabine reported. "He actually bothered to show up after all."

"_I'm sending you our position,"_ the twi'lek informed them. _"I'm with an important asset and we're under fire. We need your help if we're going to get to secondary extraction."_

"Alright," Sabine sighed. "On our way, stay alive."

Before Sabine could shut the comm off though, Ezra grabbed it. Hera needing their help didn't make sense, not unless she was alone. Kanan wouldn't do that unless he couldn't help it.

"Is Spectre One with you?" He asked suddenly.

"_He has his own problems," _Hera informed him. _"We'll meet up with him at extraction, don't worry! Right now, we need you more!"_

No sense in arguing with Hera when she was giving orders. The trio backed away from the besieged Command Center and made their way towards Hera's position. Eza just hoped his Master wasn't in too much trouble.

* * *

Kanan was in trouble and he knew it. For an old Clone, this guy was still pretty damn tough. He supposed that was no real surprise, Clones were bred for war before they could even walk. Age wasn't exactly going to dull that edge.

The Clone rounded the next corner and began firing the rotary blaster once more. As long as that gun was churning out bolts Kanan couldn't get close to him. All he could was back up and find better ground. As he did that, the Clone suddenly pulled out a grenade launcher. He kept shooting the rotary blaster as he fired a explosive in Kanan's direction.

The former Jedi had just enough time to force the grenade away from him, but it hit one of the pieces of machinery instead of him. The explosion didn't harm him, but it knocked him off his feet. Kanan felt the gip on his lightsaber go as the blast flung him away and caused his trusty weapon to fall onto a nearby assembly belt below.

The Clone climbed over the bits of wreckage in his way, aiming his rotary blaster at the downed Jedi. Kanan rolled into cover as the laser bolts slashed into the platform floor. Thinking quickly, Kanan looked around the area for something to use. He saw a bunch of spare cybernetic parts just hanging nearby. Using the Force he started grabbing every piece he could and flinging back to where he figured the Clone still was. Eventually, Kanan just pulled over a large metal slab and used it as a shield as he stepped out of cover. The Clone's laser bolts hit the slab instead of the Jedi and Kanan kept Force Throwing chunks of Zillo-Beast cyborg parts at the old soldier.

The Clone dodged a lot of the scrap thrown his way, but one lucky throw slammed the Trooper in his stomach. His firing stopped as he dropped to the floor on one knee. That didn't mean he was giving up though.

"You think junk parts are gonna save you!" He growled aloud. "I spent half my life killing piles of scrap! Remember?"

Kanan looked high as the Clone tried to stand again. He saw more cyborg parts hanging overhead. He reached out with the Force once more and pried the cybernetics free. As they fell to the platform below, the Clone tried to duck and dodge the falling bits. The distraction was enough to allow Kanan an opening. He left the slab of metal he had been using behind and dove for the assembly line below. There, he rolled into his dive, grabbed his lightsaber and ignited it again.

The Clone, having survived the falling debris, turned his rotary blaster on Kanan once more and opened fire. Kanan ran for cover along the assembly line, avoiding the bolts licking at his heels. This didn't seem to deter the Clone at all.

"You just keep prolonging the inevitable!" He called out. "I'm going to wear you down eventually!"

Suddenly the assembly line beneath Kanan started up, the belt began to move and pieces of machinery sprung to life. The Clone must've reactivated everything, started the place up just to make things a bit harder. He wasn't about to give up though, not yet. He didn't care how many Jedi that Clone managed to kill, he was not going to be added to his tally. He just needed to even the odds a bit more and that meant removing that oversized gun he kept lugging around one way or another.

* * *

A powerful blast from the cyborg's hand cannons sent Godzilla reeling backwards, smoke billowing from the scorched flesh the weapons had struck. The pain would've been unbearable for some creatures, but not him. All it did was remind him he was still alive and along as that held true this battle was not hopeless. As long as he could stand, he would fight this abomination.

He moved in again, intent making it past the electrified fists and biting one of those arms off. At very least he could damage some of its weapons in the process. As Godzilla approached though, the cyborg reared up, two ports on either shoulder opened up and unleashed their payload, proton torpedoes. The projectiles sped across the sky and streamed straight into Godzilla.

The giant saurian braced himself, but the impact was still too much to bear. The direct hit sent the king of monsters tumbling. He crashed towards the ground, but caught himself just before he hit it lessening the blow. As he rested himself against the volcanic dirt, he could hear the cyborg approaching. Another attempt to finish him off for good while he was down.

With little time to think, Godzilla looked for something to use against his opponent. A big rock, a patch of fresh dirt that could blind him, anything. Instead, he spotted one of the war machines he had destroyed before. His eyes were instantly drawn to one fully intact leg sticking out of the wrecked body. A devious little smile spread across Godzilla's face as he carefully tore the leg off. When the cyborg approached, aiming all three of its hand cannons at his head. If the machine and it's unknown master wanted a quick execution though, they'd be disappointed.

Godzilla suddenly turned, swinging the leg giant walker leg like a flail. It slammed into the side of the cyborg's face. As Godzilla stood up he swung it again before the abomination could recover, slamming the big foot of the dead machine into the metal part of Zillo-Beast's face. Sparks flew from the metallic skull as the cyborg reeled back and away. Whatever damage the last hit did, it had been significant to say the least. It had to be if it was forcing the cyborg to back away.

Godzilla looked to his makeshift weapon, the foot had broken off in the last hit and the knee joint now fell away as well. The weapon had given him an edge, but it disintegrated too easily. He looked back to the downed AT-AT and reached for the machine's broken body once more. He slammed his fits into the metal corpse. In one hand, the cockpit and in the other par of the outer armor from the chassis. Both parts now formed around his fists like gloves. He bashed them together, the resounding crunch of metal pleasing him greatly. He turned back to the cyborg now, still recovering from the damage to its robotic parts. It was now or never then.

Godzilla ran forward, pounding the cyborg with his newly made metal fists. A powerful stomach blow, followed by a right haymaker. The Zillo-Beast lashed back out with one of its arms, but Gozilla was prepared. It blocked the electrified punch just as it closed on his face and delivered an uppercut in return. Godzilla then slammed a follow-up punch into the cyborg's metal half of his skull repeatedly, hoping to add to the damage he had caused before. An explosion of sparks punctuated every hit as he laid the vengeful beatdown on the the Cyborg Zillo-Beast's face.

As the Zillo-Beast seemed to waver, Godzilla finished up his attack by slamming both fists down upon the abomination's head. It was the Zillo-Beast's turn to kneel to the ground, where Godzilla swished his tail around straight into the half-machine monster's face. The Cyborg was lifted off the ground and crashed back into one of the buildings of the facility it had crawled out of. Godzilla roared in triumph, but it was premature.

The Zillo-Beast stood up again, whatever damage it had sustained was not enough to finish it. Suddenly, it opened its mouth roaring for a moment, before something began to glow bright beneath its throat. Without warning, a powerful green beam ejected out of the cyborg's mouth. Godzilla's eyes widened in surprise as the powerful blast struck him in the chest and threw him backwards. Godzilla slid across the ground, the force of the blast pushing him back. When the beam stopped, Godzilla dropped to all fours in pain.

The Cyborg was done playing it seemed, it was bringing out its heavy guns. Godzilla had no choice now. He had refrained from using his atomic breath because he was still rather drained from his overuse of it before. He hoped he'd have enough time to draw power from the shimmering lights of the sky where the energy danced above. This battle however had preoccupied him, forcing him to use his energy reserves to heal his wounds. Now though, he had to take the chance.

Godzilla stood back up, raised his head high, opened his mouth and when the energy had pool into a bright glowing blue light in the back of his throat... he let loose. A powerful atomic beam shot out of Godzilla's mouth and the Cyborg followed suit. The two beams, blue and green, collided together at the center of the battlefield. A small eruption between them blew the volcanic dust from the ground as well as sent whatever was left of any AT-ATs nearby tumbling away.

The attacks continued to fight with each other, their power building as each of the giants poured more energy into them. Godzilla kept the attack up as long as he could, trying to force the beam back, but he did not have enough power to keep it at bay. His beam was soon pushed back, closer and closer to him, until it exploded in his face. Gozilla was catapulted away from the blast zone, crashing down with a deafening thunderclap. The momentum of the blast caused him to roll and tumble further along. He finally skidded to a stop near the edge of the forest.

The Zillo-Beast roared again, taking on a dominant posture as Godzilla rose once more from the dirt. He had seen that pose before, the robotic doppelganger looked that way just before it started shooting everything he had. The outstretched arms, the broad stance, the fact it had those gaudy looking metal things that rested on its shoulder blades pointed directly at him. It was setting up a barrage.

That mattered little to Godzilla now, he would not be frightened off by such intimidation tactics or the danger of an incoming storm. He'd keep fighting, because he had to. He needed to. Standing tall once again, Godzilla roared in defiance as he charged forward, perhaps for the last time.

The Cyborg seemed to grin sinisterly at the display. It finally began its barrage, firing off its missiles, proton blasts and laser cannons. Each shot swarmed towards him, pounding the surrounding area as well as striking Godzilla. Despite the pain, the explosions, smoke and force of impact, the titanic lizard kept pushing.

Some of the Zillo-Beast's missiles turned out to be incendiary, falling down upon Godzilla's back like flaming comets. He could feel the results, his back burned with a terrible scorching pain. He was on fire, set ablaze, but he kept running forward. He could not falter, he could not fail. He could not allow the Empire to use this thing to rage its wars, to pervert nature for their own selfish ends. This was bigger than him now, his life did not matter. This cyborg would die today, no matter the cost.

* * *

Ahsoka poked her head out of the maintenance shaft. These things had gotten way smaller since she was a kid, not as easy to squeeze through them. Thankfully she managed, it was better than going through the main door where she'd be heard. Now on the upper platform just above the room she could see what she was up against. Working the control panel resided a figure in black, effortlessly switching and turning knobs. She didn't try to read him with the Force, too risky, she needed to surprise him.

Quietly she dropped down and saw what the figure was looking at, a large viewscreen from what she imagined was the point of view of the Cyborg Zillo-Beast. Godzilla was charging towards the cloned monster, soaking up fire from almost every main weapon it seemed. In fact, she could even clearly see the poor big lizard was on fire of all things, probably from an incendiary big reptile had a lot of heart after all, but his courage alone was not going to win.

Ahsoka knew she wouldn't have much time once she acted, the dark figure would know she was there. She needed to sever the connection between this control room and the monster it commanded. She activated her lightsaber and quickly threw it towards the control terminal. The dark figure quickly threw himself away from the controls, clearly using the Force to propel him backwards.

The lightsaber continued on, slashing through the command terminal with ease. The lights on the panel flicked and died within seconds, switches and monitors exploded outward as the saber returned to Ahsoka's hand. As the dark figure turned, Ahsoka plunged the lightsaber into another nearby control switch. Suddenly, the room's lights went out, casting the entire room in relative darkness save for the bright viewscreen slightly illuminating things.

Said screen revealed the outcome of the attack, the barrage ended, the Zillo-Beast seemed to pause mid-fight. The giant lizard king wasted no time in exploiting the sudden opening. He charged into the cyborg, punching it in the electronic eye with his massive fist before clawing against its face with its other hand. Ahsoka then saw the giant grey tail crash into the screen and Zillo-Beast go tumbling back into the facility. A huge rumble shook the room and at that moment, the dark figure ignited his own bright red lightsaber.

Ahsoka now felt with the Force, but only slightly, just enough to see in the dim light. There was no doubt now, this was the Sith Lord that Kanan and Ezra had barely escaped on Lothal a short while ago. The one whose presence had knocked her cold when she felt it. She couldn't risk that happening again. At least this time, she was a bit more prepared given her suspicions. She could hear his horrific suit assisted breathing, every inhale and exhale. As Ezra and Kanan had described, cold, that's all she could feel. Just cold.

"If you think the darkness will offer protection, you have no idea who you are facing," he declared, his electronic voice sending shivers up Ahsoka's spine.

She remained resolute, keeping her sabers depowered for the moment as she moved out into the open slowly. She didn't answer him, not yet, she couldn't risk it.

"Your actions have not saved your pet, Jedi," he spoke once more. "It is still weak from battle and the prototype by now has switched to automatic control. It's programming will insure it carries out its mission to the end. It is more than a match for this primitive lizard you have set against us."

Ahsoka activated her lightsabers and rushed in, aiming for the Sith Lord's back. Her white sabers lit up the darkened room and the Sith turned just in time to block her dual blades. He then sent her hurtling back with a Force Push, but Ahsoka maintained her stance regardless.

"He's not my pet," Ahsoka answered at last. "His name is Godzilla, he's doing this of his own free will and like us Rebels it's best not to underestimate him. We're both full of surprises."

"Godzilla, so that is it's name," the Sith said, sounding rather unimpressed by her defiance. "Most interesting. But you will find that my estimations concerning the lizard are most accurate. You do not know the power of the Darkside. It is stronger than any Jedi can hope to be. It flows through me and, even without my influence, through the prototype as well. This Godzilla cannot defeat it and neither can you."

"We'll see," Ahsoka replied defiantly.

Ahsoka charged in again, and once more the Sith Lord met her blades easily. Red and white light clashed together in the dark. She could see his face up close now, a dark sinister black mask staring at her with cold heartless eyes. He had not been lying about his power, she could feel the Darkside resonating off him. This close it was almost unbearable. She had never faced a true Sith Lord before. Kanan and Ezra had just barely gotten away. But there was no running from this, not now. She needed to face this, face him, alone.

* * *

Running through the remains of the complex had suddenly got a bit more difficult. Even with all the buildings in the way, it was impossible to ignore the raging giant monster brawl. Moira almost fell onto her face when the tremor from the Zillo-Beast collapsing into a small tower hit. Again, not something you could just ignore.

Godzilla had finally gained the upper hand and managed to knock the Zillo-Beast back behind the walls. Now Moira could see them wailing on each other every time she looked up. When Godzilla let off that big blue flame that scorched the front torso of the Zillo-Beast, she couldn't help but look. The Zillo-Beast of course wasn't so easily beat, he clocked the big grey lizard in the jaw and knocked the flame away. The display of two titans in a life or death struggle was awe-inspiring as much as it was terrifying. It reminded you of just how small you were in the face of the natural world and universe in general. Her current struggle paled in comparison in scope, but was no less a matter of survival.

There were still a few Stormtroopers around who apparently thought she and her two droid companions were still worth chasing after. Leave it to Imps to have skewed priorities in the worst possible times. If she were in their shoes she'd be trying to find the nearest ship and getting out of here. Technically that's what she was doing, save for the fact she wouldn't be leaving just yet. Honestly, what did they hope to accomplish at this point? Revenge? Part of her could understand that, but she at least knew when to call it a day and hyperspace out to the nearest hideaway.

Jetty stopped for a moment as he fired back on the pursuing Troopers, at least one squad. He didn't hit anything, but the small alleyway was camped enough to force them to take pause. Moira looked back momentarily to try and take a shot herself, cover Jetty while he caught up. She thought she spotted the damn Scout trooper from before among their pursuers. It was odd before that one of those had shown up in the first place, now it was just bizarre that he was still after her. What was this guy just looking for promotion? She took a few shots at him, forcing him to duck to the ground. Imp should've stayed on his stupid speeder, would've at least given him an edge in a chase.

As they made their way out of the alleyway, Chopper stopped by a junction box. He circled behind it and logged into it through a connection port. After a few quick turns, a surge of energy flowed through the power lines to a nearby regulator system for a generator in the alleyway. A sudden explosion followed shortly after, killing at least one Stormtrooper as he tried to continue the chase. The raging fires afterwards gave the rest oft he squad pause.

Chopper then quickly caught up to Moira and Jetty who were making a run for some nearby stairs. That would take them up to the rooftops and hopefully closer to the _Ghost_. Moira suspected that the Stormtroopers would still be on their tails the whole way. She figured she could at least slow them down. She ushered the droids up the stairs first. Chopper grumbling as he bumped his way up to the top of the stairs inch by inch on his big middle wheel. This place wasn't very astromech accessible.

By the time Moira and the droids were clear, the Stormtroopers were close on their tail. That was when she tossed her high explosive grenade down the steps, letting it explode in the middle. The blast ripped apart the stairs, cutting the Stormtroopers off from them. They continued on their way, heading towards the _Ghost_. The Imps would be on their backs again soon, they had to make the most of what time they had just bought themselves before that happened again.

* * *

Kanan found himself constantly moving now, avoiding both the occasional laser barrage and the machinery that was constructing more cyborg parts. If he didn't have to deflect a few bolts, he had to roll underneath a big pounding steel press. Then after that he had to run past a heating unit before he got roasted to death. The Clone was trying to overload him now, just wear him down trying to avoid all this junk while he set up a perfect shot. Thing was, the old soldier had to at times do the same. He didn't have to worry about being shot at, but he had to avoid getting smashed as much as Kanan. Not exactly even footing, but better than nothing.

It was likely one of them would make a misstep eventually, but Kanan didn't want to take the chance of waiting. This old guy was pretty spry for his advanced age after all. He needed to take that rotary blaster out of the equation. Sure, the Clone probably had another gun or two, but at least he wouldn't be spewing a thousand bolts per minute at him anymore. He just needed to get over to the opposing assembly line.

He saw his chance when a bunch of cyborg parts started rolling between the assembly lines on a winching system. Probably headed for processing somewhere. It looked to be his best chance to bridge the gap without being an open target in mid air. As it started to pass, he saw the Clone taking aim again. With one mighty effort, Kanan launched himself through the air and grabbed onto the machinery, activating his lightsaber as he gripped the winch line precariously. The clones shots were blocked by the cyborg piece being pulled along. On closer inspection it was probably some kind of leg or arm joint, although Kanan supposed it didn't really matter in the long run.

As the winch neared the Clone, Kanan used the force to push against the winch, making it swing over to the assembly line towards the Clone. The Imperial raised his weapon to fire, but Kanan slashed first. His blade cut through the barrel as he swung by. He then dropped from the winch and landed in front of the Clone who was still looking at his now destroyed weapon, probably fuming under his helmet.

The Trooper tossed the gun away like the useless hunk of metal it was, right at Kanan. The Jedi easily cut through it with his blade, only to see the Trooper pull out an Arc Caster. Kanan blocked the sudden burst of electricity with his saber. He didn't have to hold out long against the licking bits of man-made lighting though.

Suddenly the roof shook violently and a part of it was torn clean off by a massive claw. Then suddenly a giant grey head was pushed into the roof. It was Godzilla's head. So Ezra and Ahsoka had pulled it off. He wondered what that strange feeling he felt through the Force was before, what those earthquakes he felt as he was running around awhile ago were about. Kanan had little time to be grateful to see the big lizard, as his sudden forced entrance was causing debris to fall everywhere, including on top of him and the Clone.

At least the ruckus had stopped the Clone's Caster shooting. With the lighting stopped, Kanan rushed in and kicked the Clone off the side of the Assembly line. He only fell another level, however, landing on a different conveyor belt below. By then the Clone had pulled out his Blaster Rifle and started firing on Kanan again. The Jedi ran for cover as both debris and laser bolts tried to either crush and perforate him. Part of the conveyor belt he was one gave way when a large steel beam crashed down. Kanan eventually jumped over to a small platform along the side, just barely avoiding getting crushed by a piece of falling ceiling.

He looked up again and saw Godzilla force his attacker off him, delivering an uppercut in retaliation against his foe. Kanan didn't really see much of who he was fighting, but it could only be the Zillo-Beast. What else around here was big enough to force the big lizard into a boxing match? At least for the moment something was dealing with the big giant Imperial War Machine they had come to destroy. It took a bit of a load off Kanan's mind to know that he didn't have to worry too much about the main objective for the moment. With any luck, maybe he'd actually take care of it for him.

He promised himself right there that if he got out of this and saw Ezra again, he wouldn't punish him too severely for running off to save the giant reptile. Maybe just a little extra hard training and not a full on punishment of cleaning out the _Phantom's_ engines. Of course, he still had one angry Clone to deal with and given the sound of that blaster fire, he was far from finished with the old crazy buckethead.

* * *

The dark presence was gone. Godzilla no longer sensed anything pulling this massive puppet's strings. It was just a machine now, a machine with bits of flesh and bone but a machine still. Machines could be broken, he knew that better than anyone. With nothing but it's own twisted programming driving it on, Godzilla knew he had to exploit this weakness while he could. He could already tell it was slower, both in deed and thought. It wasn't adapting nearly as quickly and it suddenly became more of a brawler than an acrobat with minimal evasion to his own attacks. He didn't know how long that would last, but it promised an opening that he could use to finally kill this Cyborg.

Godzilla had managed to force the abomination towards a large tower, part of some kind of communications array. Using his massive claws, Godzilla pushed the flimsy tower off its foundation and had it crash on top of the Zillo-Beast's head. Steel beams and bits of sheet metal tumbled down onto the giant cyborg's head. The debris clanging against it's hard metal skull.

In retaliation, the abomination raised two of its laser cannons and fired them into Godzilla's upper torso. The impact of the blast was enough to force Godzilla back a step, his chest smoking. He turned to the right of him and saw a large antenna sticking out of a building. Makeshift weapons had been useful against the abomination before, perhaps they could again.

Godzilla ripped the antenna off the structure and held it like a small spear in his hand. He rushed back at the Zillo-Beast, just as it was opening its proton torpedo shoulder port. Godzilla wasn't about to let him use that trick again. Before the cyborg could fire a shot, atomic saurian stabbed the antenna directly into the port like a dagger.

A small explosion erupted that partially blinded Godzilla for a few brief seconds. When his vision returned, he saw the Zillo-Beast howling as it's shoulder spit out smoke and fire. One less weapon in the machine creature's arsenal. If he could remove more he could even the playing field in his favor. No more fancy unnatural tricks given to the cyborg by it's creators. It would have to fight fair for once and Godzilla knew he could easily crush the creature at that point.

With the Zillo-Beast reeling, Godzilla saw his chance to follow up his successful attack with another. He rushed over to grab the Zillo-Beast's head in his claws. Then, spotting another large structure nearby, Godzilla forced the cyborg's head towards it. He rammed the abomination's face clean into the side of the building. Glass and steel shattered to bits, part of the massive wall collapsed in on itself, debris cascaded down from the impact site. Godzilla then forcefully kicked the Zillo-Beast the rest of the way through the building, causing the whole structure to collapse into a heap.

When the dust settled the Zillo-Beast was up again. Losing it's puppeteer apparently did not affect its recovery time too much. The creature aimed its shoulder blade missile pods at him once more and began to fire another barrage. Explosions erupted all around Godzilla once more, a number of them striking him. He weathered the bombardment once more regardless, refusing to be beaten back when he now had the upper hand. Fighting through the projectiles, he closed the short distance between him and the cyborg. He punched the Empire's walking gun in the face and then, when his quarry had been forced to turn away, he grabbed the right missile pod and with all his strength, yanked it free of the abomination's back.

The Zillo-Beast roared as wires sparked and some discharged missiles went flying. With the cyborg's backside still fizzling, Godzilla slammed the pod into the Zillo-Beast's body. The first hit came with enough force to knock the cyborg down to the ground. Godzilla then started wailing on him with the large hunk of torn metal. He bashed the pod against the Zillo-Beast skull and body relentlessly. The ground itself started to crack with every blow.

Again and again, Godzilla brought the now broken weapon down on its former master. He would keep doing so until the pod broken completely or the cyborg's skull cracked open.

Suddenly, Godzilla felt a terrible stabbing pain in his leg. He looked down and saw the Zillo-Beast's tail had impaled one of its spikes into his upper thigh. The tail then sparked and flashed before sending out a burst of electricity tat shot up through Godzilla's leg and into his body. Godzilla screamed in pain and dropped the missile pod. The Zillo-Beast then stood up, yanked its tail free and then punched Godzilla square in the jaw and nose at the same time with both its left and third fists.

The double blow was enough to send Godzilla twirling backwards at least a whole block until he stopped. When he did, he felt something oozing from the corner of his mouth. The taste of iron, blood. This fight was back in his favor, but it was still taking a toll. Dismantling this cyborg's weapons was a start, but he needed to find a way to wound it. He had to actually cripple it somehow before he could truly kill it.

Godzilla wiped the blood away from the corner of his mouth while snarling, never taking his eyes of his opponent as he did. It had lost half of it's missile capabilities, but it still had a lot more weapons left to use. Godzilla flared his nostrils and huffed, a low rumbling growl in the back of his throat. There had to be a weakness, some chink in its armor. When he found that, he had to strike and fast. A decisive blow was his only chance.

* * *

Ahsoka swung her blades with a maddening pace. One after the other, she slashed at the Sith Lord constantly. Sparks flew every time her white blades clashed with his red. She pushed him further back with every strike, but despite being on the defensive, the Sith Lord barely seemed to be even trying. He easily blocked every hit from her dual sabers, shifting from one blade to the next as fast as she could swing them. Then, suddenly, he pulled back, her blades missing completely. At last he struck back, bring his bright red blade down towards her.

Ahsoka moved her sabers up and blocked the blow, but felt the crushing weight of it push her down slightly. Their blades crackled and sparked together as the Sith Lord held the lock and stared down at her. Ahsoka briefly looked in the black soulless mask, a slight twinge of fear as she did. She repressed it best she could, but not fast enough.

"I can sense your fear, Jedi," he told her. "You cannot hide it. If it comforts you, it is a most appropriate emotion for your situation."

Ahsoka finally found it in her to push back against his saber, releasing her from his hold. She swung with both blade at differing angles, but the Sith side-stepped one and dodged the other. He then swung a hard right slash of his own. Ahsoka blocked it, but she was staggered by the hit regardless. As she tried to regain her footing, the Sith stood unmoved, his blade slightly lowered to the ground.

"You know what I am," he stated. "Yet I sense you're holding back. As always, the Jedi fear their true power. Unable to do what is necessary. It is why the Darkside always prevails. Why the Sith shall always be stronger."

The Sith struck again, forcing Ahsoka into a defensive posture to block his slashes. It was almost impossible to keep up with every hit he swung at her, every blow he lashed out with. With each hit he took a single methodical step, his form towering over her like some immense black shadow. Not even General Grievous had been this imposing while he was alive. He was just a big dark mass, pushing through you with ease while all you could do was wail uselessly.

She side stepped to the right, trying to catch him off guard somehow. All he did was move his blade towards hers, barely even looking and delivered a blow that nearly knocked her own sabers from her hand. He followed it up with another strike, locking her sabers with his own. He tried to push against her, to parry the lock away and get past her defenses. Ahsoka forced his red blade back up as best she could. She then ducked and rolled to his other side, but he turned with her, dragging his blade across the ground. Metal melted as his saber cut through the floor and Ahsoka had to move to block the coming upward swing. She caught it, but the Sith used the Force to push her backwards. She slammed into the broken control console and was barely able to dive away before the Sith slashed into her.

As the dark lord pulled his blade from the consoles remains he turned back towards her menacingly. He raised the blade ever so slightly, aiming it near her heart. He approached as slowly and methodically as ever. Ahsoka kept her own sabers high, intending to block the next strike. She also started to circle, trying to keep her distance from him while she looked for a weakness.

"Your persistence is admirable, but it is fleeting," he told her. "This is a battle I have already won. The entire Jedi Order could not stand against the Darkside. What hope do you have now when so little of you remain?"

Ahsoka didn't answer, but she did look to the viewscreen now behind the Sith. She saw Godzilla's face through the Zillo-Beast's eyes. He was also circling the his opponent. Suddenly, Godzilla charged left but spun and struck out with his tail towards the right. The Zillo-Beast's head suddenly pointed away from the giant saurian only for an actual big grey fist to knock it skyward. Ahsoka looked back to the Sith and thought of an idea.

"You deceive yourself into thinking your reptilian ally will bring you victory," the dark shadow of a man claimed, nothing where her gaze was previously. "Even now I sense him weakening in his resolve. It is only a matter of time. And once he is dead, your Rebel friends will follow-"

Ahsoka lunged to the right, her swords stretched out onto the ground. The Sith moved to intercept, but at the last second she changed direction, she moved to his left suddenly and slashed against his leg. She followed it up by striking him against the shoulder. The Sith grunted in pain and anger.

As she momentarily paused to refocus her attack he lashed out suddenly, pushing her with the Force into a wall. He then threw himself toward her, lightsaber pointed at her chest. She rolled across the wall, barely escaping impalement. She lashed out with two overhead saber strikes, which the Sith just managed to block. Sparks of light exploded above their heads, before Ahsoka hit the Sith with her foot where she had previously cut him along the leg. The Sith staggered and backed away. Ahsoka lashed out again with a furious series of slashes for a bit.

In retaliation, he used the Force to push her again, but this time she was ready. She pushed back. The result was a small burst of energy that sent both of them flying in different direction. Ahsoka managed to keep herself from falling to the ground. The Sith slammed into another wall, cracking it beneath the force of his impact. Ahsoka looked on as he lay against the wall for a brief second, before he pulled himself out of the small indent he had made in it. He stood upright, sword raised across his midsection, as if he had barely even felt the impact at all. Like everything she had just thrown at him hardly even mattered.

Despite this, Ahsoka didn't waver. She refused to show another hint of fear. She wouldn't give that to him, not as long as she could help it. Even so, the Sith was right about one thing, she had been holding back. Whether he suspected the real reasons why she couldn't tell. She now knew she couldn't risk holding back anymore. Not if she wanted to survive. Not if she wanted to get her answers. Right now, staying alive and in this fight was the only way she'd be able to do just that.

* * *

Moira could finally see the_ Ghost _before her, just waiting on the landing pad. She was eager to get inside, to get off the ground and fly again. She was even more excited at the prospect of flying the thing given what she had seen Hera do with the ship earlier in the day. However, her excitement was tempered with the fact the damn Imps still weren't leaving her alone.

The incoming laser bolts forced Moira to get into cover behind some spare supply boxes. Jetty at least made it to the ship itself, finding safety behind a landing strut. Chopper rolled on ahead, opening the _Ghost's_ cargo bay door. He activated the switch, opening the entrance to the ship and rolled inside as it touched the ground. With any luck he'd start the old girl soon and they'd be long gone from here in the next minute or two.

Moira fired into the mass of Stormtroopers, hitting one as he leaned out from cover to shoot. She caught another when another Imp started rushing up the stairs. A clean headshot sent him careening back down from where he came. A barrage of shots hit her crate, forcing Moira back into cover. Thankfully, Jetty picked up the slack, firing wildly at the Imps. He didn't really hit anything, but he kept the Stormtroopers' focus split.

"Come on, Chopper," Moira growled under her breath. "How long does it take to start that thing?"

Moira fired a quick burst of shots in a wide spread. One of those actually hit an Imp in the shoulder and made two others duck for cover. Placing her blaster against the top of the crate, steadying her aim, she took another shot at an Imp aiming for her. Her bolt hit him in th neck, sending wild bolts from his rifle into the air as he dropped.

It was then the engines for the _Ghost_ started firing up. Moira looked to Jetty and pointed her head to the ship. Jetty nodded and the old battledroid ran to the boarding ramp. He fired a spread of laser bolts from his blaster as he moved into the cargo bay. Moira moved to assist him, heading to the ramp herself. She kept her eyes on the Troopers, firing on them, trying to keep their heads down.

Suddenly, a wild shot hit Jetty in the knee joint. He fell in the doorway with an electronic shriek. Moira turned as he heard him fall. The poor droid clawed his way to relative safety as his joint sparked and spurted. The _Ghost_ now started to take off, it's landing struts lifting from the ground as the ship started to hover in the air. Moira ran the rest of the way, scrambling onto the boarding ramp as the ship started to climb. As she pulled herself up though, something grabbed her leg. She fell on her face, her blaster clattering into the cargo bay and out of reach. She turned back and saw, of all people, the Scout Trooper again, his armor singed and helmet visor slightly cracked, but alive.

Of all the troopers after her, one of them just had to be almost impossible to kill. The _Ghost_ was now at least five feet in the air, getting ready for take off. Yet this stupid Imp with a death wish didn't seem to care as he tried to claw his way up her leg to get in the ship with her.

"Get off!" She shouted at him, irritation than anger.

"You ain't getting away, Rebel!" He cried out at her. "Too many people have died because of you! Too many friends! It can't be for nothing! Someone has to answer! Someone has to pay!"

Moira rolled her eyes and promised herself to never accuse the Rebels of being self-righteous and melodramatic again. Like she cared about this dumb Imp's sob story. His comrades didn't care about what they did to her dad, what they had done to her teammates and friends. And now he wanted her to feel bad about paying them back?

"Oh boo hoo, join the club, Buckethead!" Moira shouted back un-sympathetically. "Now get! Off! My! Leg!"

With every word she kicked the Trooper in the head, breaking his already cracked visor even more. Finally the scout let go, falling back to the landing pad with a thud. If he survived that, Moira wouldn't be surprised. She wasn't going to stick around to find out if he had though.

She moved over to Jetty, who had crawled into a corner to nurse his wounds. He had already gotten out his tools and was fixing his damaged leg. Moira bent down briefly to check on the repairs herself. Poor guy, she thought, he had earned an oil bath or two when they got out of this that was for sure.

"I'm okay, ma'am," Jetty assured as he looked up at her in his usual squeaky voice. "Get to the pilot's chair. I'll drag myself up once this is done."

Moira patted the battledroid on his shoulder.

"You did good today, ya old rust bucket," she told him. "Guess there's still a little of the combat programming left in there after all."

"If it's all the same, ma'am, I'll stick to mechanic from now on," he responded.

Moira chuckled a bit. Then she made a dash for the ladder that would take her up out of the cargo bay. She rushed through the corridors of the ship's cockpit, past Chopper in the corner and slid into the pilot's chair. The astromech grumbled something at her.

"Of course I know how to fly this," she assured. "It's a Corellian ship after all."

Taking up the stick, Moira pushed hard on the throttle and blasted away from the landing pad. At last, she was back in the air, away from killer mutants and crazy stormtroopers alike. Back at last in her element where she had control. She breathed a momentary sigh of relief as she turned the _Ghost _around. They still needed to get to the rendezvous and pick up Hera and her crew when they arrived. As she did though, she spotted Godzilla and the Cyborg Zillo-Beast.

Even from the air, she still somehow felt small just watching the two go at it. Godzilla was currently keeping his arms crossed in front of his face, blocking shot after shot from the Zillo-Beast's laser cannons. At the very least it looked like the big lizard was holding on and had done some decent damage to the big ugly half-robot monster. They still had standing orders to bomb the reactor for the facility as a last resort. From the looks of things, there was a chance the explosion would be more than enough to kill big ugly cyborg. The easy option would be to hang back and wait for the signal.

At the same time though, it looked like the big grey reptile could use a little extra help. After all he had done, it seemed like a jerk thing to leave the big guy hanging. It didn't feel right. Damn, maybe these Rebels and their sentimentality was rubbing off on her too much. Perhaps being in the presence of Jedi had affected her sensibilities a bit. It didn't matter though, she already made the call in her head. She opened a comm-channel.

"Raider Lead to all wings, you receiving me?" She asked.

There was a brief moment of silence before she got a response.

"_Boss, good to hear you still breathing,"_ Gorossk's voice responded in surprise. _"We were starting to think you actually bought it. Stupid us. We've mopped up most of the fighters by now, doing a few bomb runs for the Rebels where we can while staying as uninvolved in the big creature spectacle in the middle of it all."_

"I'm afraid we're going to have to get involved in it, buddy," Moira informed him plainly. "Form up all wings on me. I'm flying Hera's ship for the moment. And Anglyph, if you're reading this, get your bombers ready for a run on my mark. We have one really big friend down there that could use some Air Support, Raider-Style."

* * *

Laser cannon blasts pummeled Godzilla relentlessly, with a missile colliding into him every other second or two. Without half of it's explosive payload, the Zillo-Beast was compensating with everything else in its arsenal. Godzilla weathered the storm of fire, even as explosions erupted all around him. Whatever didn't hit him, destroyed some other part of the Imperial facility in a fiery blast. Perhaps the cyborg's targeting systems were damaged, causing this less than perfect assault. Godzilla decided to wait the attacks out for the moment, at least until that remaining missile pod ran out of ammunition. Surely there wasn't much left after so much use.

As more balls of fire spontaneously erupted on and around him, Godzilla tried to move forward. He wanted to be as close as possible to the cyborg when this assault let up. He'd rip the thing's arms off first chance he got and then the abomination with them. It wasn't enough to kill this walking gun, he had to humiliate the Empire's perversion of nature at the same time. Seeing him destroy their creation would send the right message to the Cyborg's masters. That no technology they could create would be able to chain nature, that they couldn't improve upon it for the sake of their war. He had to break this monstrosity or more like it would be created.

He would not let that happen.

That was when the Zillo-Beast opened it's mouth and fired it's devastating green ray beam once more. It struck Godzilla across the chest and forced him backwards, nearly stumbling over the wreckage and debris beneath his feet. Another blast, this one hitting his head. Another struck his arm, cutting into the shoulder slightly. Godzilla kept pushing forward, reserving his near depleted reserves of energy to keep him standing.

Suddenly, one of the blasts struck Godzilla in the leg, near where the cyborg's tail spikes had dug into him. The wound was still fresh enough that the blast struck the titanic lizard hard. His leg buckled and he started to tip over. As he fell, Godzilla eyed the second remaining missile pod. Seizing what was probably his best opportunity, he aimed and fired an atomic blast at the pod. The radioactive beam cut into the pod near the shoulder, blazing clean through the metal. The pod lurched free from the cyborg's back, sparks bursting from its seams and then crashed onto the ground in a heap near the zillo-beast's feet.

The cyborg looked at his now useless weapon, completely disarmed of his remaining missiles. It let out roar and lumbered towards the fallen King of Monsters. Godzilla struggled to get up, the pain in his leg still fresh. He tried pushing against the ground, tried to pull himself up and face his foe, but his entire body felt heavy. Every attempt to move back to his feet was a struggle, he just couldn't stand up.

The cyborg now prepared it's remaining weapons systems, its laser cannons on its arms and ray beam in its mouth. It aimed them all at the downed Godzilla, preparing to finish him once and for all. Godzilla stared at him defiantly, refusing to surrender. He just had to get back, he just needed time to get back up. He was so close to killing this abomination, he could not give up now. Too much was at stake for him to surrender.

Then, just as the cyborg prepared unload into him, something miraculous happened. Something exploded against the side of his head. Then another explosion, followed by another. A volley of red tracer fire followed after that. From on high, something was striking the cyborg with a furious barrage. Bombs and missiles cascaded down like fiery hail, forcing the zillo-beast's attention away. Godzilla looked up as well and saw what was happening.

The Rebel aircraft, several dozen of them, all dive bombing and firing at the cyborg. They bombed, pulled up and then came back around for another run. Again and again, explosion erupted over the cyborg, it tried to fire back, but the plans were too fast for its lasers. It had no more missiles it could use to lock on and fire at the little fighters and bombers either. Godzilla had seen to that just now. It was like being swarmed by bees with no real way to swat them away.

The Rebels had come to his aide again, fighting the cyborg just when he needed them. Godzilla felt a strange feeling of companionship in that. Perhaps not friend, but for the moment brothers in battle. He supposed he could accept that. In fact, he dare say he was grateful for it gave him the moment to recover and think. Pushing himself up best he could, he aimed his back towards the Zillo-Beast. He could already hear it charging up its ray beam, perhaps to kill as many fighters as he could. Godzilla would not give him the opportunity to fire though. With a mighty exhaling blast, Godzilla used the force of his atomic breath to fling his body towards the Zillo-Beast.

The two monsters collided with a tremendous crash, the body spines and spikes on Godzilla's back impaling the Zillo-Beast with ease. The two giant fell into a heap on the ground, an earth shattering thud following the collapse. Godzilla rolled himself off the now downed Zillo-Beast and got to his feet as fast as he could. With the dust still settling, Godzilla aimed his tail at the fallen cyborg and began whacking him repeatedly with it.

With every thwack, he beat the abomination further into the dirt. Godzilla's massive tail crushed the metallic pieces of the cyborg's body and cracked its armor with every blow. He started aiming for the head after a bit, hoping to bash the computerized brains of the Zillo-Beast in further. He could hear metal crunching beneath his tail, breaking and bending beneath his might.

Then he felt something bite him.

Godzilla lurched backward to see the Zillo-Beast clutching his tail in its mouth. It bit down hard as it raised its head back up. Godzilla grabbed his tail and wrenched it free, but not before get kicked hard by one of the Zillo-Beast's legs. The metallic servos in the creature's appendages managed to punt him away from the Cyborg. Godzilla only barely managed to stay upright. He looked back at the cyborg as he steadied himself and saw it charging it's ray beam once more.

The attack came too swiftly to react. The beam hit Godzilla dead center and sent him flying backwards once more. He only stopped when he crashed into another building. Piece of debris fell on top of him, dust settled around him. Quickly though, Godzilla pushed himself back up. This cyborg would have to hit harder than that if it wanted to win.

That was when he saw it charging it's ray beam once more.

* * *

Hera fired on the platforms above as Stormtroopers continued to swarm over them. The eggs were of course fine within their protective cases. She and Boll were a bit more exposed. Another burst of shots rang out from the twi'lek's blaster, cutting down two bucketheads in quick succession. As their bodies dropped off the side of the platform above though, they were replaced by another trooper just behind.

"Where are all these guys coming from?" Hera asked as she ducked back into cover.

"We probably ran into right into their retreating forces," Boll suggested. "Security protocol gives strict orders to fall back to mission critical zones in case of attack. We're right in the path of the main labs and reactor core."

"Well that's just great then," Hera sighed. "Our people are winning and that still makes things harder for us."

Hera popped up again and managed to snag a headshot on another buckethead. He too fell over the side of the platform. She knew though that they couldn't stay here, eventually the Troopers would work their way down here and finish them off. They needed to get out of here before that happened.

Luckily, that was when the calvary arrived. Laser fire hit the Stormtroopers on one platform from behind before a small explosion sent the others flying clean off the section. On another platform, bo-rifle shots sounded before one buckethead was punched clear off the side. Jumping up from a catwalk below appeared Ezra, lightsaber in hand. The remaining Stormtroopers on an adjacent higher platform fired on him as well, only for their shots to be directed back at them by his blade. One by one, the bucketheads indirectly shot themselves until their guns at last fell silent.

"Good to see you three," Hera said warmly. "Would've liked you here earlier, but I'll take it."

Zeb and Sabine jumped down to their level from above, landing in front of the egg crates.

"Hey, this place is a bit of a mess," Zeb argued. "We're lucky we managed to find you at all."

"What's in the boxes?" Sabine asked.

"Extra cargo," Hera explained before looking to Boll. "Meet our inside source, Doctor Sionver Boll. We need to get her and these crates to the rendezvous point and fast."

"It's vital to the future of an entire species," Boll insisted.

It didn't take long for Sabine, smart girl as she was, to piece things together from that.

"You gotta be kidding," she groaned. "Zillo-Beast eggs? You have more of those things in there?"

"I've already had this conversation with Kanan," Hera grumbled dispassionately. "We're taking them with us. End of story. Now I just need you guys to help me get them there."

Sabine and Zeb looked at each other and just shrugged.

"Alright, I guess it's not like we can argue at this point," Zeb sighed.

Ezra moved over to Hera, a nervous look on his face.

"Where is Kanan exactly?" He asked desperately. "You said he was in trouble."

"Some crazy Stormtrooper shot at us while we were extracting the eggs," Hera explained. "Kanan stayed behind to hold him off."

"Kanan should've handled a Buckethead easy and caught up to you then," Sabine noted. "Are we sure he's okay?"

"I don't know, he's not answering his comm," Hera sadly admitted. "But we can't worry about that right now. We need to get to the ship."

Ezra, however, did not agree. He pushed past the group suddenly and broke into a run.

"Ezra, come back!" Hera called out. "We need to get out of here!"

"Go ahead without me then!" He shouted back. "I'll find Kanan and we'll catch up!"

If Hera said anything more, Ezra didn't hear her. He supposed he should've at least asked where Kanan was, but then again he didn't really need to. He could reach out to his Master, he could find him. He had done it before. Feeling through the Force as he ran, he tried to pinpoint Kanan. If he was hurt or trapped somewhere, Ezra had to find him. It was his fault he was alone right now. It may have been for good reason, but it was still his fault. He needed to reach him.

But, as Ezra felt through the Force, he sensed another presence. This one was not of his Master. It was Ahsoka, yes he could feel her. She was close, very close. She felt distressed, exerted, aggressive. She was in trouble herself and Ezra soon realized perhaps in more danger than Kanan. This was because he felt another presence with her, one he recognized from Lothal. Cold, he felt cold. He knew what that meant.

* * *

Ahsoka lashed out at the Sith Lord once more, a furious display of swipes from below and from the side. Despite being able to block her swipes, the Sith was stuck in a defensive posture regardless, using all his skill to keep up with her swings. It felt like things were turning. Then suddenly, the Sith lashed out with a Force Push. Ahsoka went flying towards a wall. At the last second she righted herself, bracing her feet against the vertical surface. She then pushed herself off the wall, the Force carrying up through the air. She came down towards the Sith, her slashing towards his head.

The Darkside user blocked the attack, but the force of the impact pushed him down slightly. Ahsoka stabbed through his defenses once, forcing him to pull away. She then lunged at the red blade once more, knocking it slightly back. The Sith Lord finally threw out an attack of of his own, but she blocked it by positioning her blades into a scissor. The Sith pushed on her blades she his. Sparks and a mixture of white and red light resonated from their lock as each of them tried to push through the lock.

The Ahsoka used all her strength to push back against the blade, the electronic breathing of the Sith growing louder as their struggle continued. Finally, Ahsoka kicked out with her foot, striking the Darkside user in the chest. It was a kick strong enough to send him stumbling backwards, but he did not fall. All she accomplished was beating him back once again.

Ahsoka now reasoned brute force would not be enough, so she decided another method. She lowered her blades, keeping them along her sides outstretched but deactivated. She closed her eyes and let the Force act as her sight for her. She could feel the Sith rush forward, his feet pounding against the ground. She sensed him raise his sword in a slicing motion and within an instant, acted accordingly.

She moved gracefully away from his first swing and then caught his arm with her second. She then moved herself around his left side, pushing him into a wild spin. She then activated one lightsaber and lashed out. She sliced slightly into the Sith's side, eliciting an angered cry. She slid to a stop behind him now and returned to a more defensive stance. Opening her eyes at last, she saw the Sith in pain, but still unrelenting. As if what she had accomplished wasn't a great deal, as if he had felt much worse.

"You are indeed strong with the Force," he admitted. "Your Master taught you well, whoever he was."

Ahsoka tensed slightly, her grip on her lightsabers tightening. She stared the Sith down now, trying to gauge him without sensing too deeply through the Force. She couldn't risk another shock, not now, she'd be vulnerable. She felt a creeping sense of doubt, however, boiling up from within. He must've sensed it too, because that was when he struck.

The Sith sent his red saber hurtling through the air, spinning like a whirlwind. Ahsoka brought up her blades up to protect her, knocking the attack away with a good solid hit. She saved herself from being split in half, but had let her guard down in face of the real threat. The Sith Lord pushed against Ahsoka through the Force and sent her back into a wall. This time, he held her there, an invisible hand bracing her against the steel, pushing her into it, almost crushing her.

"But not well enough," the Sith added as he effortlessly caught his returning lightsaber.

He approached her now, keeping his outstretched arm aimed towards her. She could feel the darkness resonating from him as he got closer, a wall of pure hate and pain. She couldn't struggle against it, his power was overwhelming. All she could do was stare back in defiance as his gaze aligned with hers. His grip through the Force tightened around her as he did.

"I will not kill you, yet," he assured coldly. "Your Rebels will meet a quick end, but for the moment my Master believes you can provide us with information."

"Never," Ahsoka spat back.

"It is useless to resist," he insisted. "You will give us everything we require from you. You will tell us all you know. Only if we are satisfied will your death be relatively painless."

Ahsoka was not deterred by the threat, she merely looked at her captor with absolute serenity.

"There is no death," she answered back. "There is the Force."

"We shall test that in due time," the Sith assured her. "For now, while my Master requires you alive... he does not require you whole."

The Sith activated his saber and brought it up towards one of her arms. Ahsoka braced herself for the coming swipe, but instead she heard something spark wildly, a stun gun blast. It struck the Sith Lord in the back, removed his concentration for a slight second. Just enough for Ahsoka to force herself out his invisible grip and push back against him. She forced the Sith across the ground with a powerful Force Attack. As she did, she saw her savior, young Ezra Bridger, his lightsaber in hand, shaky but still aimed at the Dark Lord.

The Sith then pushed Ahsoka back, slamming her head against the wall, but turned towards Ezra who now activated his own lightsaber. The Sith looked down at the child with utter contempt and loathing. Ahsoka, now sprawled out on the ground from the blow to her head looked up to see the dire scene.

"That was a mistake, boy," the Sith stated. "Your last mistake."

As the Sith raised his blade to strike Ezra down, Ahsoka reached out through the Force. She pulled on some electronics equipment and computerized systems hanging from the ceiling. With all her strength she wrenched it all free and sent it crashing down towards the Sith. Tons of wires, extra servers, monitors and such crashed down on top of him. Ahsoka raced to her feet and ran around the mountain of electronic junk towards Ezra.

"Are you okay?" He asked, still a bit shaken.

"I told you not to follow me and find your Master," Ahsoka reminded him. "You coming here was incredibly reckless and foolhardy. You could've been killed if I had reacted a second later."

Ezra looked down slightly disappointed in her response. Her frown disappeared into a slight grin as she ruffled the kid's hair.

"You're a lot more like me at your age than I realized," she told him with a slight laugh. "Thank you, Ezra."

The young boy smiled back.

"Yeah, same to you for returning the favor so quickly," he chuckled, still a bit unnerved.

Ezra than looked to the screen and saw the struggling form of Godzilla battling the voracious Zillo-Beast cyborg. The Rebel Air Support was trying to assist, but it didn't look good.

"There's nothing more we can do for him at the moment, Ezra," Ahsoka informed him. "We have to trust he will find a way to win."

"I know," Ezra assured her, shaking his head. "We can worry about it later, right now we need to get to Kanan. He's in trouble."

Before Ahsoka could ask what he meant, the pile of computer equipment she had crushed the Sith Lord with began to shake and crumble apart. She grabbed Ezra's hand and bolted out the door he had come through. She should've known better than to assume the man within the pile would've been killed so easily.

"Explain on the way," she shouted to Ezra as they ran. "Keep moving, do not look back!"

* * *

Vader broke free of the pile of garbage at last, making the entire heap explode clean off him. He sensed the fleeing boy and woman, rushing away from the room at a lighting pace. They had a good start, but it would not save them. Especially not her. He began to walk after them, following their ripples through the Force, his lightsaber near his side.

"No," he declared coldly. "Not this time, Apprentice. Not this time."

* * *

Kanan was starting to wish he had Ezra's lightsaber. He could shoot and block shots, worked on the Inquisitor after all. Without his apprentice's unique weapon though, he was stuck with just his blaster. Normally that would be enough, but against a Clone it was only a slight advantage. Using his saber to block shots and his blaster to fire back, Kanan had started making steady progress towards an exit. He really didn't have time to bother with this guy anymore. He had to get out of here and catch up to Hera. This damn Trooper though had no intention of making that easy, even when he had lost half his guns by this point he was still fighting.

Now in cover in a small alcove, Kanan kept his head low as laser bolts continued to hammer his position. He could barely manage to return a few shots when he saw an opening. The Clone apparently thought he had his target pinned. Kanan intended to correct this mistake. After trying to fire back on the Trooper once more, he pulled back into cover and waited for a moment. He could hear the Clone approaching slightly, not too close he wasn't stupid enough to get into range of a lightsaber. He had, however, seemingly forgotten about the other weapon Jedi had at their disposal.

The next time the firing ceased, instead of shooting back, Kanan sent out a powerful Force Wave. The intention was to fling the Clone backwards. However, somehow the Clone rolled to the side. He only caught the lip of the Force Push. That knocked one of his twin blaster pistols from his hand, but the Clone quickly got back up and started shooting again. Kanan blocked the incoming shots with his lightsaber in one hand and shot with his own. One of his blasts actually scored a hit on the Clone's arm and he dropped his blaster in pain.

Kanan kept his blaster trained on the Trooper with his saber slightly lowered. He thought for a moment to aim for the head, but at the same time he didn't feel it was right. The man was out of guns now, out of weapons, kill shots just weren't his thing. It was over as far as he was concerned. He'd incapacitate him and make a run for it. He would not seek revenge, as much as he may have wanted it. He wouldn't give into this old man's perception of him. He wasn't worth the trouble.

"Stand down, don't make me hurt you," Kanan warned.

"Too late for that," the Clone stated defiantly. "Way too late."

"You're unarmed, you don't have a chance here," the Jedi informed him once more. "Just get up against the wall, give me that detonator for those bombs you've planted and let me walk out of here. This is over."

"Not yet," the Clone insisted. "Not just yet."

Suddenly, the Clone moved faster than Kanan anticipated. He grabbed the blaster in Kanan's hand and forced it up. A single bolt discharged and the Clone punched Kanan in the face. The Jedi moved to defensively slash the attacking Clone away with his saber. The Trooper ducked and punched the Jedi in the solar plexus. They struggled with the weapon for another moment or two, before the Clone threw Kanan to the side. The blaster clattered to the floor and out of the Jedi's reach. He quickly stood back up and raised his lightsaber. He then saw the Clone go for something in his belt.

"Another gun?" He asked.

"Nah, should've realized from the start that wasn't gonna work on you," he admitted. "You wanna face a Jedi, you gotta fight on his terms."

The Clone pulled out what looked like some kind of sword. It was short weapon and very peculiar looking. Then he saw the weapon start to spark electrical energy along its sharp edge. Kanan soon realized what it was before the Clone even spelled it out.

"Vibroblade, kept it as a souvenir off this Seppie Captain I took out," he explained. "One of the only weapons that can stand up to a lightsaber. Never used it on a Jedi, not even with Order 66. Guess it's a good thing I held onto it either way."

The Clone charged suddenly, slashing towards the Jedi. Kanan blocked the strike and followed it up with one of his own. The two clashed their weapons together, the vibroblade not cutting in half no matter how hard Kanan struck. It certainly lived up to its reputation and time had not dulled its effectiveness. He lashed out with swipe after slash after slice. The Clone dodged or blocked every attempt and constantly tried to parry and cut Kanan along his hand.

Kanan tried to get around him, but the Trooper turned with his footwork. He was as nimble or agile as the Inquisitor, but he was rooted in his stance and that was all that mattered. Kanan eventually grew fed up and hit the Trooper with a Force Push. At this close range, the old man couldn't dodge. The Clone crashed into a railing, his back bending it on impact. He pushed himself off the damaged railing, still swinging the vibroblade furiously. As Kanan defended against the onslaught of strikes, the Trooper put his leg between Kanan's and tripped him. He tried to follow the trip up with a downward slash, but Kanan parried the blade away and kicked the Clone in the jaw.

The Trooper stumbled away, holding his face. He growled at Kanan in anger, gripping his blade even harder. He moved to attack again, but then something struck him in the back on the shoulder, an electrical stun blast. He dropped to one knee and let go of the vibroblade. He reached for it, but something landed on the electrified shortsword and kept it pinned to the ground. He looked up and saw a Togruta female standing over him.

"Ahsoka," Kanan said with a great sense of relief at first, but then he grew concerned.

He had briefly forgotten about the bombs planted all over the room. When he saw Ezra move in from behind, his lightsaber's stun gun leveled at the Clone still, he grew even more concerned. Before either of them could ask what was happening, the Clone pulled out the detonator.

"You all better put down your fancy laser swords now," he demanded as he pushed himself up to his feet and held the detonator close. "I still got this room wired and I put a ton of them near this main exit. Either you surrender now or I take us all out here and now."

"We can slice that arm off before you can press down," Kanan warned. "It will take us less than a second."

"You really want to take that chance, Jedi!" He shouted aloud. "I've took plenty of you out in the Temple with less time to react!"

Ahsoka looked at Kanan briefly, her lightsaber still drawn for the moment. Just by looking at him, Kanan didn't understand how, but it seemed like she knew what was going on in an instant. She looked back to the Clone and then deactivated her lightsaber.

"What are you doing?" Kanan asked fearfully. "Take him now!"

"I won't have to," Ahsoka insisted. "He's going to give me the detonator and let me disarm the bombs."

The Clone laughed.

"Why would I do that?" He asked.

"Because I know what you are and why you're doing this," Ahsoka assured him. "And it's not the reason you think."

"I'm not falling for any of your mind tricks," he told her, tensing up. "I'm not that stupid, Jedi."

"No tricks," Ahsoka assured him. "Just words. I know what's happening to you, why you're confused."

The Clone backed away slightly, holding the detonator tightly.

"I'm not confused," he declared. "For the first time since the end of the war everything is finally clear!"

"That's an illusion, something implanted," Ahsoka insisted pleadingly. "You're being manipulated, just like you were before at the Temple. But not by the Jedi. The Empire has been lying to you."

"Just because I got tossed into the garbage by them doesn't mean you can make me turn traitor," The Clone shouted back. "I'm a good soldier! Good soldiers follow orders! That's all I've ever done! That's what I'm doing now!"

"You are following orders, but not because you want to," Ahsoka assured him calmly. "They're making you follow them. Think, do you remember anything about the Temple? What you did? What you felt?"

The Clone seemed to tense slightly, shaking his head as she approached.

"You felt nothing, didn't you?" She asked. "You don't remember anything, do you?"

"How do you...? What... what is this?" The Clone demanded to know. "How do you know that?"

"Because it happened to a lot of your brothers," she told him as she inched closer. "Order 66, it came down. You instantly attacked the Jedi. No remorse. No second thoughts. Don't you find that odd?"

"Shut up!" The Clone shouted aloud frantically. "Just shut up! I'm a good soldier! Good soldiers follow orders! That's all there is to it!"

Ahsoka stopped just inches away from him and looked at him sadly.

"You keep saying that," she informed him. "Why do you keep saying that?"

"Because... because it's true!" The Clone shakily replied. "Because-"

"Because it echoes in your head constantly whenever you doubt, doesn't it?" Ahsoka asked insistently. "It makes you ignore and forget everything else. You act without thinking. You act without thought. Like a droid with a voice command protocol. They put it in your head, soldier."

"No," the Clone cried, stepping back further.

"They made it to make sure you didn't step out of line," Ahsoka continued passionately. "They put it in there to keep you obedient! So when they told you to do something unspeakable you couldn't refuse!"

"No!"

"Think, soldier," Ahsoka pleaded. "Try to think! Try to think of what happened at the Jedi Temple! The thing they want you to forget! The crime they forced you to be party to!"

"NO!"

"You have to remember! You need to remember! They blocked it out because you'd question again! Because you wouldn't have done what you did if they hadn't put it in your head!"

The Clone suddenly screamed and fell to the floor in a sitting position. He clasped his hands over the back of his head and shuddered violently. Kanan went to go for the detonator still in his hands, but Ahsoka held him back. After a bit, the Clone spoke again.

"It was a bunch of younglings, just kids," he said shaking and rocking as he sat. "They... they were with their Master. Trying to get to a hangar in the lower levels. Trying to escape. Sniper caught him, they were screaming, running scared. They... they didn't have lightsabers. They had nothing. I... I didn't even hesitate! Why didn't I at least hesitate!? I didn't even consider switching to stun! I just... I just... oh please, no! NO!"

And that was when the hardened Clone Trooper just started openly weeping. Kanan finally deactivated his lightsaber at last. For a moment, he wondered if he should feel mad. The man had just admitted to killing unarmed Padawans, something he had accused him of before. Yet all he could think was how pitiful the poor soldier was, how broken. For whatever reason he had blocked out or been forced to block out what he had done. It kept him convinced he had done the right thing, unquestioning in his duty and his orders. Now it all came rushing back and he hated himself.

"What have I done?" He asked feebly. "What have I done?"

Ahsoka placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It wasn't you," she told him kindly. "It was your hand, your gun, your body, but it was not you."

The Clone looked up to Ahsoka briefly and with a still shaking hand turned the detonator over to her. Ezra walked over, a similar saddened look upon his face mixed with a tinge of confusion as to what was happening. Kanan admitted he was a bit in the dark himself, but decided to stay out of it. Ahsoka carefully used the detonator to disarm the bombs. They heard several dozen beeps signaling their deactivation. The room was no longer in danger of blowing up, at least for the moment.

"Ezra filled me in on the situation," Ahsoka said speaking to Kanan. "I've already called in the transport ships and sent the evacuation signal to all squads. They'll be here within the next couple of minutes."

Good to here, they were almost home free. They just needed to get to the evac site now. Ahsoka then turned back to the Clone with sympathetic gaze.

"We need to go," she told him gingerly. "If you want you can-"

"No," the Clone replied suddenly, shaking his head and mumbling slightly. "Just leave. Just... leave. I... don't... I'm not... Just go."

Ahsoka moved away sadly and turned to Kanan. It looked like she was about to say something, but her eyes darted up to a corner of the production plant. They grew wide and turned back to Kanan just as quickly.

"We need to leave, now!" Ahsoka insisted.

Kanan didn't ask why, he just accepted that she had good reason. She had just talked down a crazy old Clone after all .She spared a short look at the Clone as they turned to run.

"It's not too late to make it right," she assured him. "Just know that. It's never too late to make it right!"

They took off towards the door, leaving the broken Clone in his pit of sorrow. As they exited, Kanan suddenly felt why Ahsoka demanded they leave. He felt what she must've only moments ago, the cold. The one from Lothal. It was back. Which meant they were in trouble.

* * *

Kamo sat on the ground of the platform, gripping his head in anguish. The Jedi had revealed the truth. He could've tried to rationalize it away as trick but it was too vivid to be a lie. His memories, his thoughts of what he did, his feelings, he buried them or something else buried them for him. He couldn't be sure and if he was honest with himself he didn't care.

All his life he felt nothing, all this time he just ignored the empty space in his mind. Now the dam had broken and it had both freed and cursed him. He now knew the why of everything. He now knew the reason behind his and the rest of his brothers' dismissal from the military. The forced retirement was because they had served their purpose, they had lifted a Government into power by removing the only thing that could've stood in their way. They had been tools, all along. Just walking guns, no better than that monstrosity he saw in the other room when he first arrived.

In the middle of his dark reflections on his crimes, he thought he heard someone walk past him. He felt a eerie chill as he did. Whoever it was did not notice him and Kamo didn't care if he did. The chill left as quickly as it had come and by then, he had resolved his inner thoughts. A conclusion had been reached.

He got up off the ground and moved towards the edge of the platform. He reached down and grabbed a single demo pack he had latched onto the underside. Without the remote detonator, it could only be activated manually with a timed countdown for it to explode. Fine by him.

The Jedi said he could still make it right. He didn't really believe anything could make it right. At the very least, he could make it even. For once in his life, he was going to make a decision of his own making. This time, he'd follow his own orders and not something placed in his head. He knew where he had to go now and what he had to do.

* * *

Another blast of green sent Godzilla hurtling back outside the facility perimeter. He hurt all over, his very bones ached from moving. He rolled over into a kneeling position and tried to keep upright. This fight was going poorly. He just hadn't had enough time to recover, not enough energy to call upon. What little his was siphoning from the lights in the sky kept him going, but he needed more. What he had now just wasn't enough.

He could see the cyborg advancing again, damaged and weakened but not yet destroyed. Despite his strength, Godzilla was still flesh and blood. He tired where this half-machine monstrosity did not. Regardless, he would not give in or accept defeat. If he had to find a way, or at least provide an opening for the Rebels to destroy the partly machine creature. They were still hitting the cyborg, dive bombing it relentlessly. Some of their fighters got too close and were destroyed with a flick of the abomination's tail, others barely escaped a snapping jaw at their tails. It was funny, when the Empire were doing the same to him he found it pitiful and arrogant. Here, he saw something of himself in their attacks, the will to press on.

He had to keep fighting, if only not be out-performed by the Rebels. He was King of the Monsters after all. The sky lights had saved him before, why not again? The Jedi had opened their power to him, particularly the young Ezra child. They did so by revealing a connection, something he could reach for, making him look into himself, making him let go of vengeance. Perhaps there was more he could still do.

Godzilla exhaled deeply and closed his eyes. He again reached out to the sky, where the energy was held, trying to see if he could draw more in. As he did, he thought of the Rebels in that very sky, holding off the Cyborg best they could. Perhaps they hoped they could give him time recover like before. He wondered how much time he had before the cyborg brushed them off like flies. They probably knew that was likely and yet somehow he could feel them fighting on. And he could not tell if it was to deprive an Empire of a weapon of war anymore. No, somehow he could feel it had changed. Like he had changed.

And as he felt out further, he could sense more of the Rebels, those on the ground. He could feel their struggles, their pain, their will to fight on. It wasn't for victory or glory though, as he come to expect of so many of their kind. It was for one another. He could feel the rebellious soldiers pulling away, assisting fallen comrades, desperately trying to race back from the enemy. They were in flight now, but not retreat. They had accomplished what they intended it seemed, now they only wished to fight for another day.

He wasn't sure how he could suddenly feel these emotions, these thoughts of these lesser creatures. Was this the so-called Force that the Jedi claimed tied all beings as one? Was this how they saw the world? How Mothra saw things? He could feel their will, their drive, their compassion and loyalty. Traits he never believed humans or others of their kind could truly have. But there it was, plain for all to see. He just hadn't felt it until now. They were fighting for one another, for what they lost and for what could be.

That willpower and determination, resonating from these lesser beings, filled Godzilla with a sudden sense of kinship. They were allies, or at least they shared a similar noble goal. That kinship filled him with something. His rage completely left him, replaced with something new and greater that had been dead a long time. And through that, his reach extended to the sky. He felt a surge entering him once more, revitalizing him. Here, at his lowest point in the battle, he finally opened himself to what the Jedi had spoken of and it felt glorious.

He opened his eyes slightly and saw the cyborg looming over him with fists of steel. Through his peripheral vision, he saw the energy from the skies cascading down into his spines in a rainbow of colors. He turned his gaze back slightly to the Zillo-Beast just as he flung his fist towards him. Godzilla raised a single claw.

He caught the cyborg's punch in mid-air. He slowly raised his face to align with the abomination's and saw it was surprised. It had thought him beaten, perhaps it still did. It flung another punch with it's other arm. Godzilla caught this one as well, with even greater ease. He pushed himself to his feet slowly, energy filling him with every second, the power nearly overwhelming but in balance. The cyborg no longer looked surprised, it seemed perplexed. It lashed out with it's third arm, aiming for Godzilla's nose. The giant reptile avoided the strike and then bit down hard on the wayward arm.

Gripping it in his jaws, Godzilla tugged and pulled on the third arm. He then began to turn, carrying the cyborg along as he did. The zillo-beast struggled, activated it's saw blades, trying to cut into Godzilla's mouth and palms. It did nothing, the excess energy radiating through his body gave the atomic titan all he needed to quickly heal his wounds. As he spun his giant opponent around, gaining enough momentum to lift the cyborg off the ground, Godzilla clenched down on all three arms, crushing the saw blade apparatus in each and the laser cannons in the left and right hands. The Zillo-Beast roared and tried to bite down on Godzilla's neck, but he barely felt the sting.

Godzilla then suddenly let go of the other two arms, letting them fly back as the force of the spin carried them away. With the third arm still locked in his jaws, he grabbed onto the upper part of the limb with both claws and dug them in. Then, with a sudden jerk, stopped his spin, pulled back on the arm with all his might and let the forward weight of the cyborg tear away from him. There was a horrendous rip, a clash of metal breaking and all at once the zillo-beast was sent flying into the distance, lacking it's third arm now held firmly in Godzilla's mouth.

As the giant reptile removed the limb from his jaws, he watched as the cyborg crashed down near where it had first appeared. It stood up in a daze, screeching and bellowing at everything. Godzilla followed up his successful attack, by taking the severed arm, aiming it's laser cannon towards the cyborg and firing. A single blast crashed into the creature's metallic skull, followed by another as Godzilla pounded the weapon again. The second discharge was the last though, as the weapon exploded in Godzilla's hand after that. He let the smoking limb fall to the ground and aimed himself at the cyborg instead.

He could still feel more and more power being drawn into him, feeding his previously battered form. The dancing colors in the sky now aided him directly, their widely dispersed energy somehow being pulled towards him. He didn't have an explanation, but decided one didn't matter. He had what he needed to end this.

He raised his head back and readied to fire, but instead of a blue glow, a red one filled his throat. With a powerful roar that shook both ground and sky, Godzilla released a spiraling multi-colored beam from his mouth. The energy he had obtained had upgraded his primary offensive power. When it struck the cyborg, exploded against the abomination, sent him falling backwards in a smoking heap. Still, it rose up again, refusing to surrender as it's programming pushed it on.

Even with his newfound power, it would take more than that to win. He'd have to get close again, fight claw to claw if he wished to win. It was the only way to defeat this creature now. He didn't know how long this power would last, but Godzilla intended to use every last drop of it finish this mad science experiment for good.

* * *

Fire and smoke surrounded them half the time, nearly blinding them. They pressed on regardless. This hadn't been the easiest extraction she'd been on, but at least they were finally making headway. Even better news, it sounded like all the other Rebels were heading to the extraction as well. They probably would have to dump a lot of their equipment just to get inside the ships quickly. Thankfully, they wouldn't have to worry about that. The only cargo they had were a bunch of eggs after all. She was concerned about Ezra and Kanan though and if they'd finally catch up before they had to leave.

They hadn't run into many more Stormtroopers, just scattered small squads every now and then. Between her, Sabine and Zeb, they managed to push through them easily enough. They weren't actively hunting them after all, they were probably just trying to chase after the supposedly fleeing Rebels. When two bucketheads rounded a corner, they seemed to surprise to see them coming up from behind them. Sabine quickly shot them down with her dual blasters.

Before long, Hera heard the sounds of transport engines flying overhead. The small flotilla of ships that had brought the other Rebels here quickly made a beeline for landfall near the edge of the facility. That area had the largest clearing as it had been bombarded the most. The barracks and training grounds had a wide enough space to allow shuttles and such to land. That was they were headed now. If they could only reach it they'd be home free. So long as Moira was there to greet them of course.

As they ran along the platform, they nearly stumbled over each other when a large earth shattering quake rumbled through the facility. That was the second one they had endured. Hera could only imagine it had something to do with the giant monster battle every other Rebel was reporting about on the various channels. She really hoped they wouldn't remain too distracted by the spectacle. At the very least it was good to hear that Godzilla had turned things around and was back on his feet.

"That was a big one," Sabine noted as they all steadied themselves. "I'm really hoping we can catch a glimpse of this weird new beam I keep overhearing about."

"As much as I share your curiosity, we have far more pressing matters," Boll insisted. "We need to get off this planet with these eggs. We can admire the giant monster battle from orbit."

"You're assuming it's going to last that much longer," Sabine laughed slightly. "You ain't hearing what we are after all."

They made their way towards a large bridge spanning a the width of the building they were in. Once they crossed here it was an overall straight shot to the rendezvous with the other Rebels and the _Ghost_. No stormtroopers in sight, no turrets, it all seemed relatively clear. They started to make their way across the bridge, but then stopped as something approached them from behind a stack of crates on the other side.

It was an Imperial Officer, one Hera recognized from earlier. He was the same one Boll had electrocuted into unconsciousness. Yes, it was would've shot him on sight, had he not been holding a thermal detonator in one hand and a blaster in the other.

"All of you, halt," he ordered angrily. "I've already activated the grenade. Shoot me, it drops and the bridge goes with it. You can say goodbye to your escape then, if you even survive the fall of course."

He pointed his weapon at them all and they did the same.

"How did you even get here before us?" Hera asked as he leveled her blaster at him.

"I know this facility like the back of my hand and there's more than a few shortcuts," he explained. "I figured you'd be passing this way. It's the quickest way to the most likely landing zone. Now surrender or we're all going to get blown sky high!"

It was then that Boll poked her head out from behind the crates. Before Hera could stop her, the Bivall had already stepped out towards the front of the group. The Imperial stared her down, focusing his sights on her.

"Klusto," she began calmly. "Put the gun down and let us pass."

But Klusto didn't obey, all Boll managed was making the officer's expression turn to one of dismay instead of rage.

"Sionver, what have you done?" He asked pleadingly. "I stood up for you. Whenever Sakal doubted or questioned, I was the first to step to your defense. I trusted you. We all trusted you and you were a traitor."

"A traitor to many things, but mostly my conscience," she explained.

"How long?" He demanded. "How long were you with them?"

Boll looked slightly away, contemplating the answer.

"It's hard to say honestly," he admitted. "I only contacted the Rebellion a few months ago. As for everything else, the secret side projects, the delays, gathering intel prior to smuggling it out, that was over a few regular years. So it's really all a matter of perspective concerning when."

Klusto looked about ready to cry at that admission. Boll didn't seem to happy about it either.

"I never meant to hurt you, Klusto," she assured him. "That's why I never wanted you to get so close. I knew this would happen. It would've been so much easier if you just hated me like Sakal did."

"Why?" He pleaded sadly. "I thought you believed in the Empire. In what we were doing here. We were so close, Sionver. You and me, we could've been the heads of an initiative that would've helped secure the galaxy. All your work, everything you put into this place and the project. You threw it all away. You threw me away."

Boll was barely able to look at him as she answered, her head low and hands fidgeting.

"I thought what I wanted for the longest time was to be recognized for my work," she explained. "That somehow I'd change the galaxy and prove myself. In a way I got what I wanted. I was placed in charge of a great scientific endeavor. Given resources and a lab of my own. But in the end it all felt hollow. What I wanted turned out to be nightmare with no way out."

She stepped slightly towards Klusto, causing him to backstep a bit himself and point his blaster more readily at her.

"I've spent most of my life making weapons, Klusto," she reiterated. "The only contribution I've made to science in my lifetime is new methods of destruction and death. I killed an innocent creature and was then ordered to bring it back to life just so it could kill countless more innocents. I wanted to create something meaningful with my knowledge, instead all it's been used for is for war."

"We would've used it responsibly," Klusto insisted. "You know me, Sionver. I never would've used the Zillo-Beasts unless they were necessary. With us at the helm we'd make sure they weren't abused. You know me, you know I'd never have done anything as horrible as you suggest."

"Do you really believe that, even after everything that's happened?" She asked in return. "I know you would've tried to keep the Zillo-Beasts from being used to kill indiscriminately. That you had only the best intentions. But the fact is, you wouldn't have had the final say. You've seen first hand what the Empire does to those who don't fall in line. How little it values the lives of those beneath its rule. If you hadn't realized that for yourself, you never would've come to my quarters today. Nulon, Sakal, all those Stormtroopers, thrown away so pointlessly and mercilessly. And for what? So we could breed giant monsters only fit for slavery? I'm sorry, Klusto. I couldn't be a part of it and deep down I don't think you want to be a part of it either."

Klusto tried straighten his expression and his stance. He kept his aim on Sionver, but his hand kept shaking. Sionver walked a bit closer and stretched out her hands.

"Give me the blaster, Klusto," she asked. "It doesn't have to be this way."

"It does, you forced my hand," he argued back. "I love you, Sionver. I thought in some small way you did too. That we could make it work, even if you were an alien. Instead, now I have to turn you over. You have to pay for what you've done here."

"If you really feel that way, then just shoot me now," Boll insisted. "I've already accomplished what needed to be done. Even if I can't bring the Zillo-Beasts back and keep them safe, at least I can say they won't be used as weapons. I can die happy with that knowledge."

Boll stood unmoving, Klusto still pointing the weapon at her head. He was hesitating, Hera could tell even from this far away. He acted like he wanted to pull the trigger, but the way he looked at Boll told a different story. She was right, he didn't want to be here.

"Did you ever really love me, Sionver?" He asked mournfully. "Was I ever even your friend? Was it all a lie?"

"Not all of it," Boll assured him. "I do care for you, Klusto. You're a good man, working for bad people. I may not feel the same way about you that you do me, but that shouldn't matter. I always saw you as a close friend. Someone I could rely on. That's why I knew what I was going to do would hurt me as much as it would you."

Klusto looked away for a moment, unable to stare into her eyes. Probably because it looked like he was about to finally break down.

"I know you have no reason to believe anything I say," Boll continued. "But if there's one thing you can be sure of it's this. Of all the people in this place, you were the only person I considered a real friend. And for that, I'm truly sorry for the pain I've caused you. You deserved better."

Klusto turned back to her, slight tears rolling down his face. Boll stepped closer, her hand still out stretched.

"Just let me go, Klusto," she asked again. "I'm trying to do right for once in my life. I need to save this species we've abused. I have to do it. I know I don't have the right to ask, but if you valued my friendship as much you say you do, if you're as good a man as I know you are... then you'll just let me go."

Klusto's grip on his blaster loosened slightly and he moved the weapon down. He turned it in his hand, lowered it and then gave it to Boll. The Bivall took the weapon and tossed it aside before stepping back. Klusto deactivated the thermal detonator himself and moved to the side of the bridge where he stared off into space.

"I kept thinking about how things would be when this was over," he said distantly. "Had a whole future planned out. Being with you probably would've cost me my job anyway. I was prepared for that. I suppose this isn't exactly the way I thought it would go if it came to that."

"I wish there was a way to make it up to you, Klusto," Boll assured him. "I really do."

"You are right though," Klusto admitted. "Maybe I was fooling myself all along. After what I've seen, what I've learned. Me and Sakal were stupid for thinking we'd ever have control of the Zillo-Beasts. At least not total. We were just the caretakers until they were ready to unleash them. Nothing more."

Hera didn't know if she felt a sense of pride or relief at the moment. Boll had just talked down this Imperial with relative ease. Perhaps he was as good a man as she claimed. It was good to see someone with conviction able to solve a conflict without firing a shot. Although if she was being honest with herself, she was mostly just happy they weren't gonna get blown up.

They suddenly heard something clambering down the platform towards them. Hera looked along with the others and saw Kanan, Ezra and Ahsoka rushing towards them. The sight overjoyed her. she honestly started to wonder if they'd ever catch up.

"You made it," Hera said as they came towards them. "Thank the Force. I was getting worried for a moment."

"Good to see you too, but we don't have time," Kanan hurriedly said. "We gotta move, now. We got a major problem on our tail. Big, tall, black, you may remember him."

Hera did, and it chilled her. Before she could say anything though, someone else spoke first.

"Then go," Klusto suddenly spoke up. "And hurry."

The three Jedi looked confused at the Imperial talking to them, but they didn't really have for questions. The Imperial just kept pointing down the bridge.

"Go! If it's who I think you're talking about you don't have much time," he insisted.

"Klusto," Boll tried to speak, but he quieted her with a look.

"Just leave, you have a species to save, remember?" He told her with a slight smile. "If you're going to accomplish that, then he can't be chasing you. Now go."

He pushed Boll forward down the bridge and ushered the other Rebels forward. They each gave him a cursory glance as they past by. Hera looked back along with Boll as they ran. The last they saw of Klusto, he was standing in the middle of the bridge and holding the detonator once again.

* * *

Vader moved into another corridor, following the trail of the fleeing Jedi. He was closing in on them now, he would not let them escape. He would not let her escape. He needed her, much as he hated to admit it. He needed her if he was to find him.

He approached a bridge and saw Klusto standing in his way. He could see a thermal detonator in his hands. It did little to make him pause.

"Move, General," he ordered.

"I'm afraid I can't, my Lord," Klusto answered plainly.

Vader moved his lightsaber into position as he closed. He had no time for this.

"I will not ask again," he threatened.

"I'm sorry, Lord Vader," Klusto stated. "But I don't have a choice. The Rebels still need time to escape."

Vader paused if only for a moment and stared at him incredulously. It was only a momentary pause and not one born out of surprise. Just disbelief more than anything, given the implications of this.

"Are you admitting to something, General?" He asked.

"Yes, I was the spy," Klusto relented. "I betrayed information to the Rebels. Let them know this place existed. I've been feeding them information on our battle strategies and the like for weeks now in preparation. It was easy given my security clearance. No one knew, not even Sakal or Doctor Boll. And as for Nulon, well, he was easy to fool into sending those fighters during the Rebel attack on the blockade. Convenient timing if nothing else."

"Why?" Vader asked with a skeptical growl.

"Well credits at first," he responded confidently. "I asked for more later, my own planet and such. But that's all pointless now, I realized I doomed myself once Alpha Predator One started moving towards the base. So I planned to find a quick way to escape, but after everything you've put me through I settled on just killing you."

Klusto held up the live thermal detonator, clutching it tightly. Vader was unimpressed.

"It would take a lot more than a feeble man like you to kill me," he declared.

"Then I guess I'll just have to settle for maiming," Klusto shrugged. "Goodbye, Lord Vader. Thank you at the very least for the field promotion."

Vader moved to stop the General as he released his hold on the active thermal detonator. He tried to grab the tiny explosive and chuck it away with the Force. Klusto was a bit faster though, kneeing the bomb towards the Sith instead. Vader opted to dive off the side of the bridge instead. The explosion followed shortly after he made the leap. Klusto's body went up in flames and the structure itself completely collapsed on itself. Vader fell from the dizzing heights, fire and debris crashing all around. He landed on the floor relatively gracefully, as destruction rained down upon him. He used The Force to push it out of the way and continued to walk.

Klusto had cost him time, but it would not save his quarry. His pitiful final act of self-sacrifice would be in vain. He'd have what he wanted, one way or another. It would not slip through his fingers again. As he said, it would take more than a stupid little traitor with a bomb to stop him.

* * *

The cyborg took punch after punch, pieces of its cybernetics sparking wildly as every blow smashed against it. Godzilla continued to level punches on the broken creature, power surging throughout his body. Every hit felt harder than the last, when the cyborg tried to block a swipe with one of its remaining arms it was brushed aside. Yet the abomination refused to yield.

It lashed out with its jaws once more, biting down on Godzilla's neck harder than before. This time he managed to make the giant lizard roar, but more in defiance than actual pain. Godzilla swung the cyborg while it remained latched to his neck, slamming him into a small tower. The cyborg let go and the received a body blow from Godzilla's mighty tail. It sent him tumbling another block or two, through several more buildings or what was left of them. It stood up, sparks spraying from nearly every metal orifice. It opened it's mouth again, preparing to fire again. Godzilla was ready for what was coming this time though.

He fired his new spiral beam attack at the Zillo-Beast, connecting with it's green beam. Before it had been a struggle to push the cyborg's attack back. Now it seemed all to easy. Godzilla walked forward, still shooting his atomic breath, as the green beam was forced backwards. The weapon in the Zillo-Beast's mouth grew hotter and more strained, trying to keep up with the incoming blast. It was futile though. The red spiraling beam was just too much. The green beam was forced back towards the cyborg's mouth and the spiral attack exploded in the cyborg's face. Godzilla kept the beam up as the half-machine creature fell backwards, screaming aloud as it did with a metallic screech.

Godzilla finally stopped firing when he approached the kneeing form of the Zillo-Beast through the smoke. He saw the arms spastically twitching, one of the legs useless, joints spewing fire and the abomination's armor clearly cracked and broken. It raised its tail, up to now it's most effective fall back, aiming the spike towards Godzilla's eye. The king of monsters caught the tail in mid-flight, just inches from his face. Lighting sparked between the little spikes, but Godzilla paid them no mind. He simply raised his free hand and then brought it down, slicing the end of the tail clean from the rest of the cyborg. He then flung the broken piece back towards the cyborg and impaled the spikes into the robotic red eye of the creature. The Zillo-Beast stumbled uselessly backwards, screaming in agony.

So it did feel pain after all. Godzilla took only a slight bit of a comfort in that. No sense in dwelling on it, only time to finish what he set out to do. He did not wish revel in his enemy's pain, not anymore.

He grabbed the cyborg by his jaws and started to pry them open as he stood over the monstrosity. As he did, the Zillo-Beast let out a final blast of green into Godzilla's face. The energy was powerful, intense, but not strong enough to stop him. Godzilla reached down into the Zillo-Beast's mouth and bit down hard on the energy weapon attached the back of the creature's throat. He yanked it free, still firing off it's excess energy before finally tossing it to the ground. The Zillo-Beast struggled uselessly to escape his grip and Godzilla pooled energy in the back of his own mouth. It was his turn now.

With one last blast of red, Godzilla breathed a spiral beam blast right into the Zillo-Beast's throat. He poured the deadly attack on, burning into the cyborg's mouth until finally the blast exploded out of the side of the Zillo-Beast's neck. Godzilla ended his attack and watched the cyborg's eyes roll back and close. With a final triumphant roar, screeching into the sky, Godzilla tossed the carcass of the creature down to the ground. He let loose one last blast, cascading the body in radioactive fire. He let the corpse burn and roared proudly once more.

He had won, nature had prevailed. The Empire's walking gun was dead, no longer a slave to their bidding. He wondered if the Rebels themselves were satisfied with the results. He looked to where he felt them fleeing and saw what looked to be several ships landing towards the other end of the complex. They were keeping their bargain, they were leaving the planet to him. He briefly considered at least going over to see them off, but then something else entered his mind.

He sensed something familiar, something he recognized from his battle. It was cold and dark, unyielding and cruel. It was moving towards the Rebels even now. The fight wasn't done yet after all. There was still a puppetmaster to deal with.

* * *

Every Rebel and fighter saw it, but could barely believe it. Those who didn't stop to cheer had to push the others who were on the escape ships, it was either that or risk them getting bulldozed by whatever Imperials were left. Ezra was at least able to watch the whole spectacle for himself as they moved towards the rendezvous. Godzilla had just beaten the Cyborg Zillo-Beast. Ezra could even feel the giant lizard's power resonating within the Force, greater than ever before. It was amazing to say the least.

He couldn't admire the sight forever though, as Hera pointed out.

"Our ride is coming in! Come on!"

Ezra looked up to see the _Ghost_ preparing to make a landing on the field. All the other Rebels and what was left of their equipment were hurriedly moving onto the transports. Anything that couldn't get in fast enough was being left behind. Sadly that meant a good deal of the AT-TEs, but it was a small price to pay. Right now, all that concerned Ezra was getting aboard their ship.

As they neared the vessel, Ahsoka pushed Hera and Doctor Boll forward slightly.

"Get inside," she ordered. "We'll cover your retreat."

The two women didn't argue with her and rolled the large crate of eggs up the ramp and into the ship itself. Ahsoka's reason for forcing them inside were good ones, seeing as a small group of Stormtroopers suddenly arrived to fire on the fleeing Rebels. Everyone who could fired back on them and a small firefight ensued.

That was when Ezra felt the cold return once more. Out of the smoke and debris of the facility he watched in horror as the dark figure of the Sith Lord moved into the open. Zeb spotted him soon after he did and started shooting at him with his bo-rifle. It was a good effort, but the Sith barely flinched. He just picked up a Stormtrooper with the force, dangled him front of himself. The trooper screamed in horror as Zeb's shots intended for the Sith hit the poor buckethead instead. The Sith then tossed the dead trooper aside like garbage and continued forward.

"Get into the ship," Kanan ordered, knowing as well as anyone this was a battle they couldn't win. "Go!"

Everyone followed, rushing into the _Ghost _and not bothering to even shoot back. They clambered into the ship, which was already starting to lift off the ground. Then suddenly it jerked violently backwards. Ezra fell to the floor face first as it did. He turned around and saw the Sith holding out a single hand at them. He was using the Force like a tractor beam! Trying to bring them back towards him!

"Someone get to the Phantom's turret!" Kanan shouted aloud, seeing what was happening himself.

However, Ezra suddenly realized that wouldn't be necessary. In all the excitement, he hadn't noticed a sound reverberating in the air. It was the sound of thunderous footsteps and he knew that could only mean one thing. A large shadow was suddenly cast over the Sith Lord and the dark figure suddenly rushed backward to avoid a giant foot crashing down on him. The _Ghost_ was now free of his hold and launched clean into the sky. Ezra moved to his feet as the hatch started to close, he watched with Ahsoka and Kanan as they beheld Godzilla's face staring at them, directly at them.

It was hard to tell what the expression was, but to Ezra it seemed like he was ushering them off, tilting his head towards the sky. As the hatch closed completely, Ezra saw Godzilla turn back towards where he imagined the Sith Lord was.

"He saved us," he said, almost without thinking.

Kanan seemed to agree, although he seemed as surprised as anyone else. He turned to Ahsoka, a slight grin on his face.

"Looks like he finally came around," he noted.

* * *

Godzilla stared down at the dark little man with the great red blade in hand. He could feel the hatred and anguish, a pain almost matching his own. It burned within him, resonated outward and destroyed all that came near. It was unmistakable, he had been the presence he felt behind the Zillo-Beast Cyborg at the start. The puppetmaster pulling the poor creature's strings. The Rebels were free of him, but Godzilla realized the battle would not be over until this man was defeated. He had no science experiment to hide behind now, he had to face him like a true warrior. Godzilla moved himself to face the dark human properly, one last fight, one last enemy.

* * *

She had escaped him again. He had watched her flee from sight in the ship. For a moment he thought he saw her looking at him, directly at him. He wondered what it could mean. He brushed the thoughts aside and looked to the giant standing before him. Godzilla as he was called. He no longer felt the same rage within the beast, the pain no longer so readily apparent. It had changed. No doubt the influence of the Jedi.

"I do not fear you, monster," he declared openly. "Your power and strength is nothing compared to that of the Darkside. And I will prove it."

Godzilla reached down with its claws to grab him, but Vader struck out with his saber first. Gozilla moved his hand back slightly, as if he had been pricked by a needle. Godzilla lunged again, Vader sliced at the creature's claw. The beast drew back and then slammed his fists onto the ground before the Sith. A terrible maelstrom of dust and debris resulted from the shockwave, nearly pushing Vader back. He rooted himself to the ground, resisting the whirlwind. Godzilla roared at him as the shockwave subsided, Vader responded by flinging his lightsaber through the sky towards the monster's eye.

Godzilla jerked away as the blade made contact. He scratched at the side of his face in pain as Vader's blade returned to his hand. He then reached up with his hand and began to constrict it. Godzilla seemed to feel the invisible grip, clutching towards his massive throat. Vader used his other hand to try and contsrict harder. But the creature resisted further.

"Die," he ordered. "Just. Die."

It was almost as if the giant lizard heard that, for his gaze turned back to the Sith. With a powerful roar, Godzilla turned himself about and struck Vader with his powerful tail. The blow knocked Vader several hundred feet through the air. Through the Force, he controlled his flight, doing his best to avoid any solid objects. He crashed through the windows of what was left of a building and then slammed into the dirt of the ground beyond. Through the Force, he had been able to cushion the blow, but it still hurt. He rose back up and saw Godzilla staring him down once again. He was raising his head and aiming towards the Sith Lord. Sensing what was coming, Vader raised his arms.

The atomic breath lashed out at Vader, destroying buildings and incinerating Stormtroopers who were in the way. Vader remained standing though, using the Force as a shield to block the deadly radioactive beam. His cape burned at the edges, his muscles strained, his armor felt like it was ready to melt, but the Force protected him, pushing the fire away from him and redirecting it around him. When it subsided at last, Vader knelt to the ground and looked as Godzilla crushed the ground beneath him with a tremendous stomp. The earth split open and Vader ran to avoid being swallowed up by the encroaching quake. Godzilla moved to chase him and then struck again with a powerful punch to the ground. The shockwave caught the Sith Lord by surprise, sending him tumbling across the ground.

When he stopped, stood back up and stared the monster down. With all his power, Vader began sending debris of all kinds hurtling towards the monster. Remains of fighters, pieces of buildings, broken rebel attack vehicles, he sent them all cascading towards the approaching lizard. The beast refused to relent, marching forward ceaselessly, even as debris smashed into his face.

When Godzilla neared, he tried to punch Vader with his fist for his transgressions. The Sith avoided the attack and then lunged forward, rushing up the creature's arm. Godzilla tried to stomp him out, but the Sith moved faster than one would expect, propelling himself upwards with the Force. He reached the side of Godzilla's neck and stabbed into it with his blade. The massive reptile roared in pain and tried to slap the Dark Lord. Vader quickly forced himself onwards and upwards, avoiding the attack. He may have been only a bug to this creature, but even an insect could bring down a predator if it struck where it counted.

He moved toward's the monster's eye, finally staring into the face of his enemy. Godzilla looked at him just before he plunged the lightsaber into his eye. Godzilla bellowed in pain and lashed out to try and claw the Sith off him. Vader just pushed himself upwards and landed on the top of the monster's head. He began stabbing down into Godzilla's skull, intending to break through the brain.

Godzilla decided on another course of action, he pounded his head into a nearby building. The crash sent Vader hurtling off the saurian, through the rest of the structure and onto the roof of another. When he managed to stand back up, Godzilla stood over him, staring down at him but not out of anger, but of sheer will. As if to say, I will not fall to you or anyone.

Vader intended to prove him wrong.

* * *

There wasn't much left of the garrison when Kamo finally arrived. Just a bare bones skeleton crew of sorts. Most of the Troopers had run off, fearing the giant lizard's ongoing battle was going to damage the reactor at some point and they'd be incinerated. Kamo didn't blame them, it just meant less people to deal with. He felt bad about those who had stayed though, they were just doing their duty, following orders like he once had. Except they at least had the choice, he knew now that he never had such a luxury himself.

One of the Officers asked if he needed medical attention. He waved him off, he was in a bad way for sure but it would've been a waste of time. He told them he could still walk and that he just needed a place to sit down for a short bit, maybe some water. That seemed to placate him. The rest of the troops seemed to either ignore him or give him a passing glance. What few of them there were seemed more interested in something going on outside. Whatever it was, he didn't care. Just made this business easier.

He approached the reactor, still siphoning energy directly from the planet's core. The plasma churning inside it was the equivalent of over a thousand megaton bomb. It would pretty much level the facility if it went off. There would be few survivors. He suspected the Rebels, or at least most of them, were gone now and that any smart Stormtroopers were seeking shelter. He hoped there would be a few survivors at least.

He only hesitated a moment longer, considering what he was about to do. The fact remained though that this place had caused enough damage. The Rebels probably erased some data or what not, but the Empire would probably just rebuild. Create more clones of monsters to their bidding if they gave them the chance. He supposed the Rebels would try to bomb the place themselves or let their monster friend do it. He wouldn't give them that. If anyone was going to blow this place up, it was him. Every person on this planet died protecting this place, protecting this damn facility that only churned out living guns. Things like him, destined to serve unwillingly without a choice.

They took that away from him, he'd return the favor in kind. For every Clone who followed unwittingly, who were tossed aside when they were used up, who were nothing but guns to the Empire to place them on a seat of power. They made him a murderer of children, a monster. He'd destroy their ability to make more.

He took out the bomb, armed it and then opened the primary reactor shielding. That set off an alarm, enough to get everyone's attention. It wouldn't matter, it was already too late. As the core opened itself to him, he planted the bomb next to the exposed inner workings. Streams of plasma and bolts of wild purple lighting shot out randomly as he set the timer, ten seconds. He could hear people coming up behind him.

"Sergeant! What are you doing!?" An Officer demanded.

"Dying as a soldier, sir," he answered him

He started the timer, even as his fellow troopers rushed to stop him. Kamo didn't really feel some of the laser bolts hit him as they opened fire. He didn't feel clean either, not after what he had learned. But unlike that night he tried to forget, he did feel something. Contentment, resolution, serenity, but more than anything, he felt at peace. That was more than he deserved he supposed.

* * *

Vader lashed out with a strike from his saber once again as Godzilla snapped at him. The lizard's nose was cut by the blade and Godzilla answered by crashing his claw down on the rooftop. Vader avoided the strike and stabbed his saber into the creature's hand. Godzilla wrenched it back before quickly spewing burst of atomic breath at the Sith. Vader tried to block the incoming attack, but the flames scorched his armor and the impact of the beam nearly sent him hurtling off the side of the building. He used the Force to push Godzilla away from him, but it hardly even made the saurian stumble. He moved to attack again, raising a fist in preparation to crush the Sith. Vader finally wondered how much longer he could last against this giant by himself.

That was when the reactor alarm sounded. Vader and Godzilla looked to it,just a few dozen kilometers away from their battle. Vader quickly reasoned what was happening and moved to find shelter while Godzilla started to move towards the reactor itself. Mere seconds later, and explosion erupted from the building, the alarm's siren call silenced by a deafening roar. Vader found himself blinded by a great light, Godzilla let out a defiant roar as a terrible shockwave followed by a massive fireball spread towards them.

And then, in an instant, darkness.

* * *

From the cockpit, Ezra watched as a small purple explosion erupted from where they had left Godzilla behind moments ago. The facility's reactor must've exploded. The mission was accomplished.

"Whoa, that was some explosion," Moira noted aloud as she opened up her comm-link. "What was that reactor packing? Wings, report, everyone still flying?"

"_We're all still here, boss,"_ Gorossk's voice replied. _"Guess you were right to have us cover the transports and leave our friend to finish off the base."_

"Figured he earned the honors," said Moira with a shrug. "Here's hoping he got clear."

"We best do the same," Hera stated from the pilot's chair, edging the nose up towards space. "Only thing left to do is get out of here."

As soon as the Rebel ships could see stars, their hyperdrives started kicking in one after the other. As each ship jumped away, scattering across the void, Ezra took stock with his fellow Jedi.

"You think Godzilla got away from the explosion?" He asked Kanan.

"I'd like to think so," Kanan admitted. "Even if he didn't though, at the very least maybe he took that Sith Lord with him."

"Don't be so sure," Ahsoka warned. "The Sith are resilient."

She looked out the window and back at the planet.

"In more ways than one in fact," she added.

The _Ghost's_ hyperdrive kicked in shortly after and they left Tsuburonda far behind.

* * *

Arch crawled out of the shelter slowly but surely. He had been taken there with most of the wounded after the damn Rebel had kicked him off her ship. It had probably saved his life and those of what remained of the Empire's Forces. He now wandered the smoking remnants of the facility, debris and collapsed buildings surrounding him. There was very little left of anything.

The search for other survivors began shortly after, but he doubted they'd find much more than a handful. He doubted he'd find Kamo either, but he could hope. Someone had to survive all this besides himself and a few others.

He didn't know how long he spent wandering the ruins, probably about an hour was his best guess. He kept wondering if he'd find Alpha Predator One's corpse lying on the ground, or at least his skeleton. He found nothing though, not a trace. Had he fled after damaging the reactor? No, he wasn't like that, he knew better than that.

If he was dead, Arch took no joy in it. Everything just felt pointless now. They had failed to protect this place. Failed to protect a science experiment that was deemed more valuable than thousands of good soldiers. It was a waste to him. Who really cared in the end? What did it matter? He concluded it didn't. They had given their lives in an attempt to save some stupid living weapon. Pointless.

He wondered what would happen after this. He and the other survivors would probably get rotated out to some backwater colony, keep them away from the core worlds. Probably slap a medal on some of them for their bravery and to keep them quiet. The Empire would never admit to getting beaten like this. It was too embarrassing and they couldn't have the rest of the Galaxy learn what they had been doing out here. They'd want them to keep their mouths shut or at least way from people who'd listen. Everyone who died here would be forgotten, their sacrifice lost to history.

All he had to look forward to was probably getting stuck working on some other dunghole planet, probably guarding another stupid science experiment. How else would they keep him quiet? Maybe a promotion or two to go with the medal? Good job on surviving, kid, now keep your mouth shut about all the lives we wasted to trying to create a bloodthirsty robotic terror beast. It was just as Kamo predicted, being a hero wasn't worth it. At least not in the Empire anyway. It was funny, he still wanted to hate the Rebels for their role in all this, but he couldn't shake what that woman said to him. About getting in line with the rest of them.

Thing was, he could believe it now. If this was how the Empire treated it's soldiers, people loyal to them, as cannon fodder and meat for a grinder, what did it do to those who were it's enemies? He quickly realized he didn't want to think about that. He didn't want to think about anything. Whatever happened next, he would just be happy to be off this planet.

As he made his way through more rubble, he thought he saw something trembling beneath what looked to be the broken remains of a TIE fighter. He moved over to it carefully and saw that something was indeed moving about in the half buried aircraft. A survivor, at last! If nothing else, he could at least help one person.

He dug at the dirt and debris, moved it aside and pounded on the hatch. After a few solid kicks, it broke open. Then, a dark hand grabbed at his throat.

* * *

Darth Vader stood up once again, slowly getting his bearings. Once more he has cheated certain death, the Darkside his shield. If nothing else, he could take pride in the simple victory of survival. Surely the giant saurian had not been so lucky.

As his senses returned fully he soon realized he was strangling a lone frightened Scout Trooper of all things. In his haze he had reacted rashly, even for him. No sense in killing a nameless worthless grunt like him, especially when he needed to know what was going on.

He dropped the man to the ground with a thud and stared out at the devastated landscape before him. There was nothing left, the whole complex had been raised. The explosion had utterly demolished what the monsters had not. He imagined he didn't look much better, given how the heads-up display in his visor kept flashing randomly. He would need to get it repaired as soon as possible, along with the rest of his armor. That would have to wait for now though. He finally turned to the Scout Trooper, currently rubbing his throat in pain.

"Report," he ordered in a low growl at the insignificant man.

The Scout looked confused for a moment, staring at the Sith's dark visage in awe. He gulped, unable to speak a single syllable. Pathetic, Vader thought.

"I said, report," Vader demanded once more, louder this time.

"Uh, Rebels appear to have fled, sir," the Scout answered, finally working up the courage. "Facility entirely destroyed. Few survivors."

The Scout didn't seem to know who he was, but at least he knew his place. If nothing else he wasn't a total incompetent. He could work with that for now. He still needed more from him, specifically about one threat in particular, the only one that potentially remained.

"What of Godzilla?" Vader asked.

"Who?" The Scout asked confused.

"Alpha Predator One," Vader corrected himself, his voice seething in frustation. "Where is it's body?"

"Nowhere, sir," the scout replied. "I... I haven't seen. No one else has reported it either."

Vader turned away, deep in thought. No trace? Perplexing. He was only broken from his trance by the scout once more.

"Do, uh, you need medical attention, sir?"

"No," Vader replied firmly. "Return to your squad. I have important matters to attend to."

Vader walked away, leaving the stupid scout to totter off back to his fellow soldiers. He tried to see if his communications channel was still working and contacted his ship.

"Captain, send a shuttle to my coordinates," he ordered. "At once."

"_Lord Vader, you're alive,"_ The captain shouted in nervous jubilation. _"Thank the Emperor, we thought for certain-_"

"My shuttle, Captain," Vader reiterated angrily. "Now!"

"_At once, my Lord."_

There was nothing more to do here. The facility was destroyed, the project in shambles, the so-called Godzilla was quite possibly dead and the Apprentice had fled once more. All in all, a disaster. The Emperor would have to be informed.

His thoughts lingered on Godzilla though. He did not feel the weight of it's death hanging in the air. Odd, considering his power. There was no way it could've survived, but the Force did not resonate with his passing. In the end, Vader supposed it didn't matter. It was gone, but it had allowed his true prize to slip away once more before it departed. That loss hurt more than anything else. He almost had her.

"You can run all you want," he spoke quietly as he looked up to the sky. "But not forever. You'll soon learn what I did long ago, Apprentice. The Darkside always wins. That will be your final lesson. I swear it."

* * *

AN: No time for mini notes here, we have an epilogue to get to. See you there.


	11. Epilogue

Epilogue

"And you are certain that there is nothing salvagable?"

"Yes, my Master," Vader answered as he knelt before the image of the Emperor. "There is nothing left of the Zillo-Beast or its genetic material. The explosion saw to that. Everything of value in the labs was destroyed."

"And this... Godzilla, as he was called?" The Emperor asked next. "Destroyed in the same fashion?"

"Most likely," Vader replied. "There is no sign of him."

"This is of no consequence," the Emperor assured him. "The Rebels have only forced us to place more resources towards our true endeavors. We will find other ways of maintaining order in the meantime."

Vader supposed he was right, but he couldn't shake a nagging feeling. Something he had thought of after everything was done.

"Did you suspect any of the project leads or staff to be working with the Rebels?" He asked. "That the project was compromised?"

"The possibility did cross my mind," the Emperor admitted. "It would explain the delays in the project. At the very least, your actions routed out the traitors in the end. They are no longer a concern."

"Yes, but did you suspect a Rebel attack was forthcoming?" Vader pressed further. "Is that why you really sent me? In an attempt to insure their destruction in some manner?"

Vader thoughts were not without precendent. His Master had done similar things in the past. It was not without reason that he'd have plans within plans. More importantly, part of him had started to wonder why he was sent and not someone else. Did he suspect who it would draw out? The Emperor himself seemed to sense his feelings on the matter.

"You believe I was offering you an opportunity to capture Skywalker's Apprentice," he reasoned. "As well as crush the fledgling Rebellion you frightened away from Lothal."

"It has occured to me as a likely explanation," Vader answered.

"I was not fully certain of what would occur," the Emperor assured him. "Let alone the intrusion of this Godzilla, if that is what you are insinuating. I merely felt its possibility. As I have told you time and again, my Apprentince, what events I forsee are for me alone to know in full. What I do with that information is for me to decide."

"I would have been more prepared had I known she would arrive," Vader elaborated.

"It was not a certain vision," the Emperor snapped back. "I did not wish for you to endanger the project with a potential miscalculation of my knowledge. And in any case, how can you be sure she was there?"

Vader raised his head and looked sternly at his Master.

"I am certain, it was her," she assured. "It could be no other Jedi."

"Ex-Jedi if your suspicions are true," the Emperor corrected him. "She has grown more powerful than we realized. She and the other would-be Jedi are a threat that grows ever greater with each passing moment."

"They will not evade us forever," Vader assured him. "They will be found. She will be found. And then she will lead us to others, like Obi-Wan."

"Do not let your desire for revenge against your former Master cloud your mind, my friend," The Emperor warned. "Hatred is an important tool of the Sith, but it's power is not always enough and can blind you as much as free you. As you learned when you fought this Godzilla creature. You must hone your hatred and rage, use it as an extension of your power and not a brute club to plow through your adversaries. All power requires percision in its applicaton."

"I understand, Master," Vader assured. "I will not let it happen again."

Vader bowed his head once more and Emperor nodded in appreciation.

"Inform your Inquisitors of this development," he ordered. "They are to scour the Galaxy until Skywalker's Apprentince and the Jedi she has aligned with are found. There will be nowhere they can hide from us."

"Yes, my Master," Vader agreed. "A final question though, what are your thoughts on Godzilla?"

The Emperor stroked his chin for a moment, exhaling slightly in thought.

"A powerful creature indeed," he admitted. "Had he survived, he would've made an excellent replacement for the pawn he killed. His destruction removes him as a concern, but he has given the Rebellion a false sense of hope, an imagined victory. They will grow bolder because of him. We must prevent this from spreading as much as possible. All information concerning Tsuburonda will be surpressed. Any knowledge of this project will be denied. With any luck, the creature's existence will fade from memory."

"And if another like him rises in his place?" Vader asked.

"By then my Apprentice, it will be far too late," the Emperor assured. "Tarkin's work is almost complete. When it is finished, no Rebellion or Monster will be able to stand against us. We need only bide our time for the moment. We shall prevail in the end, I have forseen it."

Vader rose as the hologram faded. He moved back to his command chair. There were other matters to attend to. Namely Rebels to squash and an Apprentince to hunt down.

* * *

The open fields and wide grasslands were iluminated by a setting golden sun. It was as far out of the way of the Empire as one would could possibly get, no hyperspace lanes nearby, no inhabited worlds or major resources. For Doctor Boll though, all she cared about was the ecosystem which she described as near perfect.

Ahsoka saw the Doctor off, taking her giant crate of eggs towards a treeline in the distance. She looked pretty content, even happy. Like a weight had been liofted off her back and she could finally breath.

"Are you sure you'll be alright here?" Ahsoka asked her. "It's pretty much the middle of nowhere."

"I've gotten used to being in the middle of nowhere honestly," Boll explained. "This place is just a bit further out of nowhere. As long as I have some place to work I'll be fine."

"A corvette will be arriving with supplies to help you set up in the next few days," Ahsoka explained further. "Hopefully it will be enough to get you started."

"We'll see, I can always find a decent cave and the equipment I brought with me should be enough for now," Boll told her. "Thank you again for giving me and the Zillo-Beasts another chance at life."

Ahsoka just smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Think nothing of it," she assured her. "I'm more sorry for what we put you through. Specifically your friend."

"Yes, Klusto," Boll recalled, a tinge of sorrow in her voice. "It's funny, I never really felt about him the way he wanted me to. I've never really been one for romance. It still hurt to lie to him, because I did care about him in a way. He was a good person, he believed in what he was doing. I suppose it just took him longer to realize what it all meant."

"We all have our convictions and loyalties," Ahsoka admitted. "It really all depends on what they are in the end and if they're worth fighting for. If nothing else, Klusto believed you worth sacrificing everything else for. Take comfort in the fact that he was a better man than his masters."

"I will, rest assured," Boll promised. "I'll make sure what he did will not be in vain. I'll bring the Zillo-Beasts back from the brink. As living creatures, not weapons. One day, who knows, maybe when the Empire falls they can truly live in peace once again. Until then, I'll watch over them."

"A noble endeavor, Doctor," Ahsoka assured him. "I wish you luck."

She bowed to Boll and the Bivall did the same. They parted ways after that and Ahsoka started to return to the _Ghost._ She stopped briefly to see Moira next to Gorossk's ARC-170. The Trandoshan was in the cockpit and the red-headed Corellian was just outside leaning against the fighter.

"It was nice of you to escort us here," Ahsoka told her.

"Needed to make sure those credits came through," Moira explained with a flippant tone. "They did by the way, also some extra I noticed."

"Expenses for your lost fighter," Ahsoka explained. "I felt it was only right. You went above and beyond what your contract asked of you."

"That's just the great customer service the Raiders provide," Moira stated, beaming pridefully as she spoke. "Should be able to pick up a new ship easily enough. I hear there's a few old Z-95 Headhunters I could patch up. Always kinda wanted to see how those ships handled to be honest. Now I just have an excuse."

Still obsessed with the classics it seemed. Ahsoka couldn't help but offer a slight laugh.

"You know, you could always join us," she told the pilot. "You'd have plenty of missions just like this one. Probably a lot more fun to boot."

"Tempting, but not my style," Moira admitted. "I'm too much of a free spirit. Organized guerilla fighting, not really my thing. But if it's worth anything, I'm rooting for ya. And if you ever need us again, you have our number."

"Indeed I do," Ahsoka concured.

Moira climbed up into the cockpit of the 170. As she was halfway up, she turned around and looked to Ahsoka again.

"You know, you may be interested in something," she said thoughtfully. "Rumor has it, Incom has this hush hush secret project of theirs. New fighter, still in development, but could be interesting. Something they're calling the X series. Intriguing if nothing else."

"I'll keep it in mind," Ahsoka responded gracefully. "May the Force be with you, Moira Thal. As well as with your Raiders."

"Same to you, Fulcrum," Moira saluted as she sat down in the cockpit. "Same to you."

The 170 lifted off shortly after, speeding into the skies above. As strange and eccentric as she was, Ahsoka had to admit that Moira was a person to keep an eye on. Things would only get tougher as this fight dragged on. They'd need friends like her. Or at least people like her rooting for them.

She finally returned to the _Ghost_ and found Kanan waiting for her there by the open hatch.

"We did a lot of good work today, huh?" He asked.

"I'd like to think so," Ahsoka stated. "The other Cells have started to see the value in working together. It's a small step, but we're closer to real unity now more than ever."

Kanan, if nothing else, agreed with that. He then sheepishly started rubbing the back of his head.

"Look, I just wanted to say I'm sorry," he began. "I said a few things about you before that were uncalled for. I guess, I'm just still getting used to the idea of being a soldier again. It isn't easy and I'm not a fan of it. Ezra told me about what you two talked about and, well, after you coming to my rescue back there, I felt it was only right to apologize. You were right, I didn't really understand what you've gone through."

"In a way we're both guilty of that," she assured him. "It's always been hard trying to reconcile the past. What happened to me, why I left the Order. It hasn't been easy, reevaluating everything. I only really found myself when I abandoned being a Jedi. Sometimes I wonder if I ever was, and dealing with that can be difficult."

Kanan huffed in a good natured way.

"I know what that's like," he assured her. "Not feeling like a real Jedi I mean. But for what it's worth, you're a good teacher and your insight is invaluable. Ezra at least says as much. This Master thing has been hard at times to adjust to myself. Like you, I'm just doing the best I can. Point is, you went after Ezra, you helped him get Godzilla back in the fight and you came back to help me out. You're also one of the few Force Users left who can actually remember the old days. So really, you deserve more respect and for what it's worth... I trust you."

Ahsoka grinned at that, glad to finally hear she had earned that from him.

"There's a lot me and Ezra could learn from you, I see that now," Kanan continued. "I hope that you'll be able to give us the opportunity to do so."

"I'd be more than happy to," Ahsoka assured him. "Besides, after spending time with Ezra, perhaps there are things you two could teach me as well."

"Sounds good to me," Kanan grinned. "Now come on, we gotta regroup with the fleet. Sato will probably wanna hear about all this. Who knows, maybe he has intel on an actual home base we can set up in. Last I remember he was adamant about finding one"

Ahsoka followed him inside, still thinking about what he said. They could learn from each other indeed. She was open to that. The problem was there were other matters that called hr attention. She didn't beleive Godzilla had killed the Sith Lord. She couldn't believe it. As powerful as the saurian was, it just didn't seem feasible to think it was that easy.

She had questions of her own, answers she needed. But maybe there was someone else who could help teach Kanan and Ezra in her abseance. At least until she figured things out. The search for a new base and memories of the old clone they had encountered triggered something in her mind. Perhaps there was someone who could help them, if he could be found.

She'd bring it up when they talked to Sato again. Hopefully they could track him down, get him out of retirement so to speak. In a small way she'd be helping Kanan with an old wound she could feel had been stirred up Besides, it would be good to see an old friend again. Kanan was right, there were few people remembered the Jedi and what they stood for. It would be nice to have someone around who could help remind them.

She just hoped they could find him. With all the questions spinning around in her head, it would be nice to see Rex again. At least he couldn't have changed too much. He was stubborn for that.

* * *

Ezra sat in the main quarters, silently. His head placed down against the holotable. He was depe in thought and meditation. Still reaching through the Force. He had been doing it ever since they left Tsuburonda. Ever since they felt the reactor explosion. He hoped he would feel something, anything, but it just wasn't. No indiction of death or survival, just nothing. He would've preferred anything, even discovering he was dead, but nothing.

"Credit chit for your thoughts?"

He looked up and saw Sabine, her helmet pulled off and her armor burnt and worn. The paint job on said helmet had seen better days.

"You look terrible," he noted. "Your clothes do anyway."

"Speak for yourself," Sabine shot back with a grin. "But you are kinda right. Just as well, I was thinking of repainting it all anyway. Same thing with my hair. What do you think? Blue-green? Could work."

"You'd look good in anything," Ezra nervously chuckled.

Sabine rolled her eyes and slid in beside him.

"So, what were you thinking about?" She asked.

"I was trying to see if I could feel Godzilla through the Force," he explained. "He had so much power last we saw him, it was almost insane. He was resonating with it. Even when we were speeding away I could feel him. Then the explosion happened and... nothing."

"We could just be too far away," Sabine tried to suggest. "I mean, it's possible he survived."

"I don't think he's dead," Ezra assured her. "But, he just feels gone. Like he left. Doesn't feel fair. He was about to get what he wanted. The Empire was beat, he had a whole planet to himself at last. Then... it's just taken away from him."

Sabine seemed to understand what he meant, nodding lightly.

"You don't think he's dead, but he's not on Tsuburonda," she reasoned. "Where do you think he is then?"

"No idea," Ezra admitted. "Part of me likes to think he's some place better. Some place he belongs. He deserves that much. We all do."

He sighed briefly and turned to her.

"You know, for a long time, I didn't know what I really wanted or where I fit in," he explained distantly. "Then I found you guys and everything changed. I guess... I guess I just really wanted it to work out for him too. I felt like he was just lost, like me. And if he could just get past that, all the hurt and anger, he'd find what he was looking for."

"To be honest, I'm not sure anyone knows what they're looking for Ezra," Sabine replied, sounding a bit distant herself. "Not even giant monsters. We all think we do, but in the end, it's not always what we want we're looking for. That's something that kinda gets in the way. It's what we need that we have to find out for ourselves. You found what you needed in us and maybe you helped Godzilla find the same."

"You think so?" Ezra asked hopefully.

"I'd like to," Sabine shrugged. "Better than thinking he's just dead. Like you said, doesn't feel fair."

Ezra nodded at that, content with that small bit of a hope.

"What do you think he really needed? What was he really hoping for?" He wondered aloud.

"Who knows what Gods need," Sabine replied wistfully. "Let alone God-Like Monsters. And I am way too tired to speculate for the moment. Heading off to re-paint and sleep things off. Talk to you later, Ezra."

She patted him on the shoulder and left him alone. Ezra sat there for the next few minutes thinking. He really hoped Sabine was right. That wherever Godzilla was, he found what he needed and that in some small way he had helped him discover it. If there was hope for a giant destructive monster, than maybe there was some leftover for the rest of the galaxy.

* * *

Water rushed around him suddenly and his eyes flittered open. He was sinking fast, deep into the dark blue. He rushed to move his arms and swam upwards towards the light. He exploded from the surface, breathing in the cool crisp air before letting out a mighty roar. When he got his bearings, he looked to the sky. Blue, white clouds, no dancing colors, a sun that wasn't too bright.

Could it be? Was he home?

He trudged from the water towards a small island with familar wreckage. It was where he had fought the humans before all this started. Yes, he had come home. The explosion that engulfed him, it somehow transported him back. It was probably made out of the same energy that had done this in the first place. And the power he absorbed from the sky, maybe it had helped.

Godzilla beamed with pride knowing he had survived yet again. But his thoughts suddenly turned to other matters as he felt something speeding by through the clouds. He looked up and saw several strange craft, not human at all. They were shaped like flying discs, hovering and swooping through the skies. Human aircraft were chasing them, firing on the advanced ships. The saucer craft seemed to turn in mid-air and fired back on the humans, destroying them instantly.

What was happening here?

That was when he felt something else familiar. Soaring down from another section of sky approached two winged figures, one that of a flying reptile, the other a massive insect. Bursting from the water at the same time appeared a rolling ball of needles and spikes. They all came to a rest on the small atoll. Anguirus, Mothra and Rodan. They must've heard his roar and been nearby.

They instantly started crying and screeching, speaking to him in a frantic pace. Where had he been? How had he survived the human attack? He responded with a low growl, assuring them he'd explain as soon as they offered their own. What they had to tell was astonishing.

It had been over a year since the humans had sent him away. In the short time he had been gone, about six months after, an alien invasion had come. They had swarmed over the planet, attacking and battling the human militaries across the globe. They began using the resources of the planet against those who occupied it. Whole ecosystems were being subverted and crushed to serve their war machine. Earth was being consumed alive slowly, day by day. There was a concentrated effort by the humans to overthrow the invaders, but so far nothing had worked. Only the kaiju had been able to stem their assault, but just barely.

It appeared he had survived one battle only to fall into another. He wasn't sure if he felt good about that, he kinda wanted a small rest from fighting. Still, the energy he had absorbed seemed to still be invigorating him, so perhaps that could wait.

Rodan's next screech affirmed that it would have to. A large contingent of alien ships approached, fighters, battleships and motherships, all flying towards them. As well as a few alien watercraft skimming the ocean. Angurius roared that they must've heard Godzilla's call as well.

No matter, it would just make this easier. Godzilla turned to his allies and looked to them. He didn't really need to say anything, they seemed to instantly understood. Mothra herself appeared to beam with pride and adjulation. He had finally accepted a new role, a new purpose, one that was greater than what he once believed he could be.

Humans were inherently selfish, greedy, arrogant and destructive. However, those were not traits that defined them. He saw that now. They had a right to the planet and life as much as anything. They stumbled, they made mistakes, but they had the capacity to change. They had the capacity for so much more. The Jedi had shown him that. Maybe punishment no longer sufficed. Maybe what they really needed was an example or at least a chance.

He thought of the young Jedi child, Ezra who had given him his chance. Who opened him to another way, perhaps a better way. He could find the peace he sought, the justice he wanted, if only he let go of that which he clung to. The rage would probably always be there, but he did not need it to survive. There were other things he could put faith in. His allies, his own will and maybe hope, if only a little.

He did not know if this Force that Ezra and his fellows spoke of was real. If it was truly out there as he claimed. For a brief moment though, he had experienced a connection with creatures he once thought all petty and foolish. He witnessed their compassion, their drive, their will and it had given him new strength. All because of the actions of the young jedi Ezra. He had helped him discover something deep inside himself he had forgotten. If one human in a galaxy on another world far, far away could surprise him that much, why couldn't the humans of Earth?

They needed the chance though, the opportunity to see. These new invaders sought to take that away. To crush hope and take what wasn't theirs. To use this green world to fuel their desire for conquest and pain. He would not allow that. This world was his to protect, his to defend. It was his kingdom and from now on he would safeguard all in his domain, human and kaiju alike. From threats within and without.

Godzilla bellowed a mighty war cry and set his fellow Kaiju loose into battle. He fired a blast of atomic breath that sent one of the larger saucers down to the waters below in flames. These aliens would learn a harsh lesson, just as the Empire had done. He was nature's wrath, he was a defender of Earth, God of Destruction in all it's glory and horror, keeper of balance, king of monsters. He was Godzilla, Force of Nature and before this day was over, they would all see why.

* * *

AN: And so we leave Godzilla to face another intergalactic enemy. I don't think I need to show what happens next because if you've seen any of his movies you already know. Godzilla's arc is now complete and our dear Rebels now fly off into the sunset directly into the opening of the episode that started off Season two a few short months ago.

It's been a bit of journey this past year. This project has been a ton of fun to write. I know not everyone was happy to see a delay in other projects, but this really helped revitalize me in a way. I want to thank you all for reading and taking the time to tolerate my silly little diversion. With this done at last, I now feel comfortable returning to the Wormhole Series, fresh and renewed to continue the story I was telling there. I promise as soon as I'm able that will be the next thing I start writing down.

Again, thank you all for sticking with me. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas, as this is my little gift to all of you. And enjoy yourselves at the premiere of the Force Awakens, which is drawning ever closer by the day. It's been a wonderful experience, getting me through some difficult times and keeping my spirits up. I'm thankful for all your support. Happy Holidays from me to all my beloved readers.

Tiny Tim: And God Bless Us, Everyone.


End file.
